196 public lighting lamps currently out cannot be repaired

Almost 200 of public lighting outages across Rathfarnham, Templeogue, Firhouse and Bohernabreena cannot be repaired “in the standard two-week repair window.”

As of December 2025, there were 255 public light faults across the area, representing “2.5% of the overall lighting stock”.

Of these 255, around 60 are cable faults or require ESB attendance, surrounding trees to be pruned or traffic management plans to allow access for repair.

At the Rathfarnham/ Templeogue/Firhouse/Bohernabreena Area Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 13, councillors were told that most of the outages in the area are “old obsolete low-pressure sodium ‘orange’ lights”.

This style of light fixture is being replaced with LED lights around the county as part of a wider upgrade scheme operated by ESB Networks.

However, “resource issues” within ESB has slowed replacement works, and council staff are not permitted to replace fittings themselves without “site attendance” by ESB staff.

“We unfortunately can’t immediately upgrade them to LED, the ESBN will not allow us to do this, it’s outside regulations,” senior executive engineer Caitriona Lambert told councillors at the meeting.

She said that replacement parts for the older sodium lamps are in “extremely short supply” and that council staff can “only do piecemeal repairs” on the 196 lamps that are currently out around the Rathfarnham/Templeogue/Firhouse/Bohernabreena area.

Ms Lambert also presented councillors with a list of 734 lights to be upgraded from sodium to LED around the area, particularly in estates in Kilakee, Orwell Park, Rossmore and Carriglea.

She said that despite the ESB resource issues, the network “cooperate as best as they can and are working very well with us on site” and have promised to complete upgrade works faster this year due to “forthcoming availability of approved third-party subcontractors”.

“Every time there’s a severe weather event, it knocks us all back by weeks and weeks,” she added.

The successful replacement of the 734 lights with LEDs “entirely dependent on resources throughout the year, and any of the listed estates that are not addressed in 2026 will be prioritised for 2027, she said.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme