Minister for the Environment John Gormley has said the country’s rock salt supplies to de-ice roads are at a “pinch point”.
Mr Gormley said while the country had not run out of rock salt a “huge amount” had been used over the last number of weeks. However, he remains confident the country is “in a position to deal with this”.
Speaking on RTÉ's Saturday View programme he said an extra shipment will arrive in Cork and a further 3,000 tonnes will come from Carrickfergus.
He said local authorities move the amount of salt from one local authority to the other as needed in order to save supplies.
“For example this morning South County Dublin has given salt back into the city because its required there and this is going to take place all over the country,” he said.
Mr Gormley also called for an innovative approach saying “there are alternative crystals that can be used and have the same effect as salt and we have access another 600 tonnes.”
He said the country is “moving from an ice situation to a snow situation” and that Monday and Tuesday would be “very difficult” because the weather conditions are set to deteriorate
As matters stood last night, just over half the amount of salt required to de-ice roads nationally next week was likely to be available.
Experts estimate that between 15,000-20,000 tonnes are required to de-ice the roads next week. However, it is expected that the National Roads Authority will have sourced only 10,000 tonnes by Monday.
Yesterday, Mr Gormley and Michael Egan of the roads authority accepted that even if new supplies were identified abroad, it could take several days to import them.
The authority said that some local councils would be asked to conserve salt over the weekend to prioritise the de-icing of roads during the working week. The committee has asked county councils in affected areas to have their local co-ordination centres in operation on Sunday.