For the second time in a year, the Government has been accused of leaving people around the country in an 'intolerable' situation as thousands are still without power following Storm Amy.

A statement from ESB last night said it expects some customers will be in the dark until 'early' this week.

It comes less than 10 months after Storm Éowyn wreaked havoc on the country's electricity network, leaving some homes without power for weeks.

Aontú leader Peadar Tòibín said the shortcomings in electrical infrastructure are 'intolerable at this stage'.

Mr Tòibín told Extra.ie: 'Given the fact that so many people went through such difficulties not so long ago across whole swathes of the country, we need to make sure that the ESB is resourced in the manner in which it's able to deal with what is a situation that's going to be recurring again and again.'

The Meath West TD said that 'Ireland has far more miles of cable above ground than most European countries,' adding, 'we need a specific programme now to ensure we make the electricity infrastructure storm-proof going into the future.'

Approximately 13,000 homes, farms and businesses remained without power last night, predominantly in Donegal, Leitrim, Roscommon, Galway and Mayo.

ESB said it intended to have many stations back up by last night and the 'majority of customers' who did not have their supply restored yesterday would have power again by tonight.

However, a statement from the state energy provider said that 'some customers in the worst-affected areas may be without power into the early part of [this] week'.

The statement added: 'This is likely to include some customers in Donegal, which saw the highest wind speeds recorded during Storm Amy, and in areas across the northwest.'

Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne told Extra: 'We have to commend the ESB and all those workers out in the storm - emergency response units, fire brigades, all the county councils.

'But it highlights again the need for a coordinated response, for sufficient resources for our local councils, our emergency services, and the ESB as well - to have a strategy of response to reduce the time people are without power.'

The Dublin North-West TD said he is 'still concerned that lessons haven't been learned from previous storms... we need to do better'.

Huge gusts were recorded during the worst of the storm on Friday afternoon, causing significant damage and claiming the life of a man in Co. Donegal, one of the hardest-hit counties.

A man in his 40s, Tommy Connors from Letterkenny, died after falling from the roof of a shed during the red warning on Friday.

It was the only fatality reported during Storm Amy, as vehicles were hit by falling trees and heavy rain caused localised flooding.

At worst, approximately 180,000 customers countrywide were without power over the weekend. And 4,000 homes in Co. Donegal were without water at one point yesterday, as Uisce Éireann worked to restore supplies.

Storm Amy also caused some transport havoc. On Friday, more than 100 flights were cancelled at Dublin Airport as bars stopped serving early to keep frustrated passengers from over-indulging as they whiled away the hours.

Around 20 further flights were cancelled yesterday, with others delayed. Dublin Airport spokesman Graeme McQueen told Extra 'most airlines' were 'expecting to run full schedules' from yesterday afternoon as winds reduced.

A number of Bus Éireann services were also cancelled yesterday, predominantly in the western and northwestern regions.

The Dublin-Belfast train route was back up and running by midday yesterday after fallen trees caused service interruptions. Luas Red Line services were also disrupted but were running as normal by lunchtime yesterday.

Galway experienced heavy flooding on Friday, with some cars completely submerged in Salthill and the grounds of Clonbur GAA club left underwater.

Images from Monaghan town on Friday showed a car almost totally submerged by floodwater.

Today is expected to be mostly cloudy with 'a fair amount of dry weather and a few showers', according to Met Éireann.

Higher atmospheric pressure will bring better weather this week, with mostly settled conditions.