THE GOVERNMENT yesterday directly intervened for the first time in response to the Arctic weather conditions which have gripped the country for 20 days, by elevating the the crisis to the status of a national emergency, and by warning that salt and grit supplies were reaching critically low levels.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen announced that the National Emergency Response Committee had being convened and from today will report to the Government on a daily basis until the severe weather abates.
He said it would co-ordinate the national response to problems caused to transport, schools, access, supplies and health by the widespread icy conditions. It would be overseen by Minister for the Environment John Gormley and his department.
But he and Mr Gormley emphasised that the primary responsibility for de-icing roads would still lie with county and city councils. Mr Gormley alleged some had cut budgets for gritting materials despite road maintenance funds not being reduced.
The Taoiseach also said the sub-zero conditions would continue for at least another week. He also accepted that the supply of grit and salt to de-ice roads now posed a major operational problem.
Met Éireann issued a severe weather warning yesterday, saying outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow in the northwest and west of the country, spreading to the southwest, could lead to further accumulations of 2-6cm of snow in some places overnight. Snow may return to the eastern half of the country over the weekend with Met Éireann forecasting wintry showers on Saturday
Forecaster Gerald Fleming said he expected overnight temperatures would dip as low as - 10 in some areas and they would fall to similar levels tonight. He said Wednesday night had been exceptionally cold and that Oak Park weather station on the outskirts of Carlow town had recorded a temperature of -12.
Mr Fleming said daytime temperatures failed to rise above freezing in areas such as Dublin and Kildare yesterday and that this could continue today.
“The duration of this cold spell is unprecedented,” he said.
“We have had almost three weeks of it now and we don’t see a significant thaw coming for the next six or seven days. The last cold spell like it was in 1963.”
Speaking at a press conference at Government Buildings yesterday, Mr Cowen said that the national supply of salt and grit to de-ice roads was “very tight due to high international demand”.
As a consequence, he said, the National Roads Authority had been asked to assume responsibility for sourcing salt and grit and for decisions on where it should be supplied nationwide.
He said that there were 14,000 tonnes available now but that the supplies from next week were “more difficult to confirm”. This was due to unprecedented demand from other countries, including Britain, also in the grips of sub-zero and blizzard conditions.
Speaking later on RTÉ, Mr Gormley admitted that the supplies would last only a few days. However, he denied that the country could be brought to a standstill.
“We have to be careful not to get into exaggeration here.
[People have suggested] paralysis and everything grinding to a halt. That’s not the case. The primary routes have been kept clear,” he said.
Yesterday’s intervention came after a series of claims from the Opposition parties that the Government’s response has been slow, unco-ordinated and in disarray.
Mr Cowen dismissed the claims of a slow response during the press conference. “The response here is a local response. The local authority response has been there for the past 20 days, dealing with the weather conditions that have emerged and evolved.” He also asserted that Wednesday’s “compacted ice” was the principal problem.
This, he said, elevated the situation for the first time into one that required national intervention.