Tens of thousands of homes are without power and many schools are due to shut on Monday as the country remains in the grip of icy weather conditions.
Bitterly cold weather will persist until Friday morning, while daytime temperatures will struggle to climb above freezing and night-time temperatures will plunge as low as minus 8 degrees in some places during the week, according to Met Éireann.
There was heavy snowfall on Sunday across Munster, in particular counties Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Limerick, and southern Leinster, especially in Carlow and Kilkenny.
Road, rail and air transport was affected by the conditions on Sunday with long tailbacks on key routes and disruption to flights at Cork, Shannon and Dublin airports.
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As Ireland’s cold snap continues, what measures are being taken to restore power and water services?
Many schools in areas badly affected by snow and ice – such as Carlow, Cork, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois and Limerick – will not reopen on Monday due to local conditions and safety concerns.
However, the Department of Education said it expected most schools to reopen as normal on Monday morning following the Christmas holidays.
As of Sunday evening, almost 60,000 homes, farms and businesses were without power and ESB Networks said further power outages were possible.
“We anticipate power restoration will take a number of days in those areas that are worst affected due to the hazardous weather conditions and accessibility challenges,” ESB Networks said in a statement.
Uisce Éireann, formerly Irish Water, was also trying to restore supplies to about 15,000 people in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Tipperary on Sunday night.
Water for a further 33,000 customers in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Kerry and Wexford is also at risk because of high demand and bursts on the network.
Uisce Éireann said freezing weather conditions, coupled with rain or snow, were leading to delays in repairing leaks.
In the Dublin area it said crews were working overnight to repair burst water mains affecting customers in Knocklyon, Millbrook Lawns, Avonbeg, Tallaght, Balrothery, Kilnamanagh, Crumlin and Walkinstown.
Met Éireann has warned of very cold nights over the coming days with widespread frost and ice, with temperatures struggling to get above freezing during the day.
Monday is due to be a “bitterly cold” day with widespread frost and lying snow. There will be sunshine and scattered showers of rain, hail, sleet and snow while some thunder is also possible too. Highest temperatures will range between one and five degrees.
Tuesday is also expected to be another very cold day with sunshine and further scattered wintry showers in the west and north of the country. Frost and ice will linger in some areas all day with highest temperatures ranging from zero to minus 8 degrees overnight.
The national forecaster said conditions will remain cold and frosty over Wednesday and Thursday but expects there to be a gradual improvement on temperatures over next weekend.
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group is due to meet on Monday morning to reassess the situation.
Iarnród Éireann has said it expects all routes except one – Limerick to Ballybrophy via Nenagh – to operate on Monday morning.
Local Health Service Executive services have warned of disruption to services. In Cork, all non-urgent appointments such as outpatient appointments and other clinical appointments on Monday have been cancelled, while in the midwest patients have been advised to expect disruption to services in Limerick, Clare and north Tipperary.
Court sittings in Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Limerick have been put back until noon on Monday due to the weather conditions, while the sitting of Kilkenny District Court has also cancelled.
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