merrion street

The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) met again this morning to review the severe weather situation. Ministers Simon Harris T.D., Shane Ross T.D., Paul Kehoe T.D., Damien English T.D. and Kevin “Boxer” Moran T.D. were in attendance.

The thaw is continuing, and at this morning’s meeting the NECG heard reports from around the country confirming that much of the country is now back up and running. Huge progress has been made in restoring the transport and electrical services and many people are back at work and school this morning. 

There has been a huge collaborative effort across all organisations involved in the response to the very heavy snow. Local co-ordination has functioned effectively, facilitating the identification and prioritisation of those with immediate medical needs, the clearance of national and regional roads and the provision of access to the key food manufacturing and distribution points, getting our ESB Networks and Irish Water crews out to fix problems, as well as linking with communities who have worked from the other end to enable people to move out of their homes.

This has been a huge effort, and this effort is continuing and will continue in the areas which were affected by the deepest falls of snow and drifting.  The NECG received direct reports on the ongoing situations in Wexford, Wicklow and Kildare and as resources are becoming available in other areas, these are being redeployed to help the local coordination efforts in the worst affected areas.

As things improve two sectors, Irish Water and Health, are experiencing huge pressures as we emerge from this event. Their crisis management teams are working to manage the myriad of service issues which they face and, from the accounts, will be doing so for some time.

The NECG continues to encourage people to heed the safety messages. In particular, with pedestrians and cyclists walking on roads, motorists need to remain vigilant at all times, slow down and take great care.