Thousands still without power can use hotel facilities during Irish cold snap
Thousands remain without power during a bitter cold spell across Ireland.
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Your support makes all the difference.Work is continuing to restore power and water to thousands of households as Ireland grapples with a prolonged cold snap.
Some schools in parts of the country badly hit by snow or ice remained closed, though the majority of schools opened on Wednesday.
Travel conditions in some parts remain hazardous and people are being warned to be aware of icy paths and roads.
People left without power have been told by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) they can use facilities in nearby hotels on Wednesday and Thursday as crews work to restore electricity to thousands of households.
Around 4,000 people are still without power while 4,500 are without water, though more sub-zero conditions overnight are expected to cause more disruption.
Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin said Munster and parts of Leinster had taken “a big hit” during the cold snap.
“These are very challenging weather conditions and by definition they create difficulties,” he said, adding that they would evaluate the response to the significant weather warnings.
“We certainly will do everything we can to assist those who are still without water and without power.”
The entire island was under weather warnings coming into Wednesday morning, with temperatures as low as minus 6C recorded in parts at 9am.
Temperatures were expected to plummet even further to around minus 8C overnight into Thursday, before conditions begin to improve on Friday and into the weekend.
All of the Republic of Ireland is on at least a Status Yellow low temperature and ice warning until midday on Friday, but more severe alerts will also apply to the vast majority of the country.
Irish weather agency Met Eireann said the extremely cold weather runs the risk of dangerous travelling conditions, transport delays and animal welfare issues.
A Status Orange low temperature and ice warning was in place for most counties overnight and expired at 10am on Wednesday.
At 6pm, a similar orange-level warning came into effect for every county except Donegal, and will remain in place until 11am on Thursday.
Met Eireann said Thursday would be “bitterly cold” with widespread frost, ice and patches of freezing fog.
The ESB said 4,000 homes, farms and businesses are without power and that customers have been told they can use nearby hotel facilities while work is under way to restore their power.
“We obviously appreciate that this is an incredibly difficult time for our customers, particularly in those worst-affected areas,” ESB Networks regional manager Siobhan Wynn told RTE Radio.
“So in an effort to try and provide some support to them, we’ve made arrangements with local hotels where people can go to refresh and get a hot meal, recharge their mobile phones.
“That’s going to be available both today and tomorrow.
“We’ve contacted all of the customers directly in those areas so we would have called them yesterday to let them know about this service and to avail of this service they just need to provide their NPRN, that’s their account number on their electricity bill.
“We’re conscious that some of these people could be travelling from areas where there are still hazardous road conditions so we would remind people to only travel if it is safe to do so.”
She said that they are hoping that all those customers will have their power restored by Wednesday night.
“There may be small pockets of customers that run into tomorrow, but absolutely yes the vast majority you would hope that later tonight we would have them back.”
Irish utility agency Uisce Eireann continued to work to restore water to customers in the worst-affected regions, mostly in counties Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary.
Meanwhile, Gardai have said they issued fines to 15 cars that were parked on the narrow roads around the Sally Gap in Co Wicklow.
“We understand that people want to take in the snowy scenery but please help us out and be responsible. The area is impassable so please avoid,” Gardai said in a social media post.
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group met on Wednesday morning to discuss the cross-department and agency response to sub-zero hazardous conditions.
The Dublin Region Homeless Executive has a free app and an online form which enables members of the public to alert them to any rough sleepers so that they can be offered a bed or other services.
National director of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management Keith Leonard said there has been “no let-up” in the bitterly cold weather.
“We are continuing to co-ordinate the responses by all agencies and local authorities to ensure the most appropriate responses and supports are happening at local level during these challenging conditions.
“Road and path surfaces will remain challenging throughout the country and I would urge drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to take extra caution if you have to set out on a journey.
“Remember, even where there is no lying snow, icy conditions will prevail and surfaces may look deceptively safe.
“I would like to thank all those members of the public who have been checking in on vulnerable neighbours during this cold spell.
“If anyone knows a neighbour who is elderly, alone or who has mobility issues, please keep an eye out for them and make sure they are OK.”
A yellow-level snow and ice warning was also announced for parts of Northern Ireland, with the UK Met Office advising of a risk of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces.
The warning for areas in counties Antrim, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Londonderry was issued for between 4pm on Wednesday and 11am on Thursday.