Irish Examiner view: Blackout should remind us to prepare

A man and a child walk through a local market during a massive power cut in Vigo, northwestern Spain, on Monday. Picture: Miguel Riopa/AFP/Getty

The power outage in Spain, Portugal, and some parts of France earlier this week was a frightening event in and of itself, but it should also serve as a timely call for Ireland. The scale of the outage was unprecedented. On Monday, Spain’s power grid lost 15GW, or the equivalent of 60% of its national demand, in just five seconds.

The suddenness and scale have led inevitably to speculation about the cause, with Spanish government officials specifically refuting suggestions of a cyber-attack — though their cause was not initially aided by the contradictory explanations on offer, with both atmospheric issues and heat in the country’s interior being blamed.

By yesterday morning, 99% of power was restored, but not before we saw some unsettling images of the reality on the ground.

Dan Linehan of the Irish Examiner sent back striking footage of darkened cafes and lengthy queues outside supermarkets, while we also saw passengers stranded in the middle of nowhere when trains broke down.

There are positives which can be mined from the experience. Spain has been swift to thank the authorities in Morocco and France for supplying energy during the outage — a timely reminder of the importance of strong international co-operation at a time when that concept is under threat from the US and others.

It is also a salutary lesson for Ireland, one to take on board before we experience any power outages of a similar scale. Spanish citizens quickly shared the lessons they learned from the outage, for instance. Without power there are no contactless payments, for instance, so cash is essential. The lack of wifi makes it impossible to stay abreast of developments: A battery-powered radio is worth having. Working torches are also necessary, as is an ample supply of batteries for all of those devices.

The irony, of course, is that such lessons would not have been necessary in the Ireland of the 70s, when power cuts were relatively frequent. The key lesson then remains relevant now: Be prepared.

Families right to feel aggrieved

Belfast rap group Kneecap issued a statement yesterday in which they stressed that they do not support Hamas or Hezbollah. The statement was in response to a controversy which erupted when concert footage surfaced of the rappers chanting their support for Hamas and Hezbollah at a concert.

They were also shown calling on a concert audience to kill their MPs, hence the band’s apology in yesterday’s statement to the families of Jo Cox and David Amess, MPs killed in in 2016 and 2021 respectively.

Kneecap claim that their comments were taken out of context but it is difficult to argue against the points made by the Amess and Cox families, that the rappers should be aware of the responsibility that comes with their profile when making such statements. Those statements were insupportable, and the band’s apology to those families reflects that.

The band may also claim they are being criticised in order to “derail the real conversation” about the thousands of Palestinians being killed in Gaza, but they are wrong here also. The Palestinian people have been slaughtered in their thousands and no right-thinking person could be anything but supportive of them and repelled by the actions of the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza. However, folding that support into cheering for Hamas and Hezbollah is also wrong.

These are terrorist organisations. When Taoiseach Micheál Martin called on Kneecap to clarify their position, he pointed out correctly that “Hezbollah are responsible, in my view, for the murder of Seán Rooney ” — the Irish soldier killed in an ambush in Lebanon three years ago. Kneecap are fond of using the Tricolour at their concerts and with their merchandise. That is the flag Pt Rooney served.

It goes without saying that being criticised by the middle-aged and elderly is unlikely to dent Kneecap’s popularity. If anything, it is likely to boost their standing among fans; the enmity of the establishment has been a godsend to any number of rebellious, or pseudo-rebellious, musicians.

However, the adrenaline generated in a packed venue is no excuse for the insults to the Amess, Cox, and Rooney families.

Earned respect

This week, we learned which organisations in Ireland are trusted most, with the publication of the annual Ireland Reputation Index.

For the third year in a row, credit unions topped the index, with An Post coming in second, and chemist chain Boots in third.

The index is based on a poll of 5,000 members of the public which measures the level of trust, respect, admiration, and esteem the public has for 100 of the largest and most important organisations in Ireland.

Readers will have their own views on the index. Six of the top 10 organisations are Irish, for instance — does that mean we are predisposed to trusting indigenous companies? It is interesting to consider that three of the other top 10 organisations — Toyota, Boots, and Lidl — have a long-standing presence in Ireland which has clearly helped them to build strong relationships with consumers.

Unsurprisingly, given the toxic reputation of so many social media firms and online platforms, Meta was ranked 100th, closely followed by X which was ranked 99th.

Those organisations’ outsized influence on public opinion is not blunted by this lack of trust, apparently, but it is good to see recognition for responsible organisations which make a priority of serving the public.

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