Almost 3,000 people are helping ESB technicians to restore power to thousands as the Irish Government faces anger from communities about the response to Storm Eowyn.
That number, up by 200 people since Wednesday, includes retired ESB staff and workers from six different countries: the UK, Austria, Finland, France, the Netherlands and Germany.
Around 133,000 homes and businesses remain without supply as the ESB reconnected 635,000 customers in the past week.
After senior ministers were briefed on developments on Thursday, a spokesman for the Tanaiste said that most schools left without power would be reconnected by the weekend at the latest.
It is expected that the vast majority of people affected by outages will have power restored by Friday, with it taking further time to reconnect more isolated areas.
The Government has come under pressure over its response to the destruction caused by Storm Eowyn, which put Ireland under a nationwide Status Red weather alert for the first time.
Record-breaking wind speeds saw power cut to more than a million people on the island of Ireland, which has had a knock-on effect on some water supplies, broadband connections and other services.
The Government has argued it is reacting to an “unprecedented” storm and that 333 emergency response hubs supported by the State have been established to help people without electricity.
Minister of state Hildegarde Naughton said she accepted it took too long to set up community hubs, and that people are “really angry, it is at boiling point”.
“There has been a huge community response right across the country… but we do need to plan better the next time,” she told RTE’s News At One.
“When something like this happens, these designated hubs need to be identified now for the next time a storm like this happens.
“These community centres, the local people will be able to identify the correct area – be it in Carraroe or Oranmore, wherever – that those centres need to have generators in place, showering facilities, where people can get hot food, they can charge their phones and they will know exactly where to go when this happens.”
Seventeen generators have been offered to Ireland by Poland and Denmark, with two from Denmark due this week.
More generators are arriving from Romania on Friday and will be brought by the Defence Forces to the areas that need them.
A spokesman for Tanaiste Simon Harris said he had been informed that the Civil Defence is helping to move generators and bring elderly people to hubs, as well as carry out drone surveys to help the ESB.
Mr Harris said after the meeting: “I want to thank those involved on the ground in what has been an enormous humanitarian effort in response to an unprecedented weather event.
“There is still much work to do but every effort is being made to restore power and water to the homes that need it as quickly as possible.”
The Programme for Government includes a pledge to develop an Extreme Weather Event Assistance Scheme, which the Government has indicated it will prioritise.