A status red wind warning is now in place for Clare and Galway as Storm Jorge hits Ireland.

There will be an elevated risk of coastal flooding with a “violent” storm-force-11 gale-warning in place some coastal areas.

ESB Networks is carrying out an environmental assessment on 75 cable leak incidents after a new report stating four leaks resulting in loss of fluid from buried electricity cables may have the potential to cause environmental damage.

Housebuilders in Ireland are embarking on a series of roadshows to lobby newly-elected TDs on what they say are the barriers to housing construction.

Latest: A Status Orange wind warning for nine counties has been downgraded.

The forecaster says that Storm Ciara "will produce very strong southwest winds with mean speeds of 65 to 80km/h and gusts generally up to 130km/h.

On the longest night of the year be safe and be seen, the Road Safety Authority and ESB Networks have urged road users.

Hundreds of homes and businesses are without power this morning following the storm, with parts of the southwest among the worst affected.

Meanwhile, gardaí are investigating reports that scrap metal yard owners are being threatened by those responsible.

Construction worker fatalities have decreased by almost 50% since 2015, and the industry has also seen a reduction in the number of non-fatal accidents over the same time frame.

Bandon and the surrounding areas in Co Cork are set to be among the first areas in the country used for the rollout of Ireland’s €1.2bn State smart meter project.

School-leavers choosing apprenticeships has doubled in the last three years, up to 16,000 from 8,300 in 2015.

20,000 smart electricity meters will be rolled out to households in the midlands and south by the end of the year.

The ESB is preparing to start a €1.2bn national roll-out of smart meters to businesses and households, beginning in parts of Cork and the greater Portlaoise area.

A massive initiative to train a 100,000-strong army of lifesavers is underway as volunteers in Cork were honoured for reaching a milestone.

Access to emergency medicine should be free for everyone, according to the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM).

Kya deLongchamps fights on in our Sustainability Month with an empowering attack on our blithe waste of electricity.

ESB Networks have confirmed that around 10,000 homes, farms and businesses have no power due to Storm Hannah.

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) has invested heavily in supporting the third level research brain power needed to underpin the country’s future in renewable energy.

Almost one-third of Ireland's energy needs now comes from wind, the second highest in Europe, as new figures confirm that 2018 was a record-breaking year for wind energy production.

Verily, Kilmurry, or No 1 Wilton Road in Cork city’s western suburbs has seen enormous changes during its 60-year span lifetime of being an accommodating home for its family occupants: it’s only now set to leave family ownership, for the very first time, since it was first built in 1958.

Around 1,700 homes, farms and businesses are still without power this evening following Storm Hector.

Electricity bills in future are likely to be calculated on different rates applying to three time periods each day following the introduction of smart meters.

Nuala Wolfe meets some of the people involved in solving our power needs as Ireland begins to move to a low-carbon economy.

A teenager who suffered life-changing neck injuries in a fall while taking photos of the snow is expected to be transferred to Dublin for specialist treatment.

Cork Simon has provided extra emergency beds, has lifted all shelter exclusions, and will open its day centre 24 hours a day from today to ensure nobody has to sleep rough as temperatures plummet over the coming days.

Update 2pm: A snow-ice warning is in effect for the upper half of the country, until 10pm tonight.

Latest: ESB Networks has continued to restore electricity supply following Hurricane Ophelia but approximately 19,500 customers remain without supply, a number of which are due to Storm Brian.

An already storm-battered Cork City avoided flooding overnight but a weather warning remains in place for today.

CORK City is on flood alert as the country braces for another massive storm.

Thousands of homes and businesses across the country remain without power and thousands more are without water as the cleanup operation after Storm Ophelia continues.

Tens of thousands of homes remain without electricity and power in the wake of Storm Ophelia as it emerged that Ireland will not qualify for any financial help from the EU to cope with the aftermath.

It may not have looked it yesterday as people across West Cork surveyed the fallout from Hurricane Ophelia, but the area might have escaped the worst of the damage.

An urgent call for O negative blood donors has been made by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service after supplies dwindled to just four days because of the loss of a full day’s collection due to Storm Ophelia.

Latest: Sea swimmers who take to the waters during red storm alerts could potentially face fines in the future.

West Cork was one of the first areas to bear the brunt of Ophelia and a huge clean-up operation will continue today for the biggest storm in living memory.

Update 2.45pm:More than 200,000 homes are without power as storm Ophelia tracks its way across the country.

The ESB has paid a dividend of €60m to the State for the first half of this year; double the amount it paid for the same period last year.

Smart meters are to be installed in more than two million homes and businesses as part of a €1.2bn ‘once-in-a-generation’ rollout.

Around 2,000 customers are without power following lightning strikes.

Latest: Gardaí say they have recovered over 90% of the remains of a woman who was found in the Wicklow Mountains.

A man has been arrested over the discovery of body parts found scattered across the Wicklow Mountains.