There is potential for more "nasty" weather over the next week, with the possibility of orange rain warnings for the south and southwest, according to Met Éireann.
At a briefing of the National Emergency Coordination Committee, forecaster Gerald Fleming said there is no immediate danger as yet, but a series of approaching fronts may develop into serious weather events, which could cause flooding in areas that have yet to be affected.
“There will be above normal rainfall over the course of the next six or seven days.
“At the moment none of the individual events are at the orange status serious warnings level, but we’ll have to keep a very close eye on that because a couple of the events have the potential to get there,” he said.
“We’re in a situation where a number of those rain events have the potential to turn nasty, and potentially they could cause flooding in areas where there has been no flooding so far if that were to happen.”
Met Éireann has issued a Status Yellow rainfall warning for Co Cork, Co Kerry and Co Waterford for Monday night.
River levels in the lower Shannon catchment from Lough Derg to Limerick are expected to peak on Monday, but will continue rising in the middle catchment, which includes Athlone, over the early half of the week, according to the Office of Public Works (OPW).
Parts of the upper catchment have seen water depths reduce by up to 3 cm, but all other gauges in the mid to lower Shannon have seen increases of between 2 to 3 cm following recent weather.
"That rate of rise is about half of what we were observing yesterday in the central catchment area . . . so an improvement there in the rate of rise, it has slowed down, but I would stress that the levels have still risen and we are still in a severe flood situation on the Shannon catchment," said Jim Casey of the OPW.
Water levels on the Erne, Clare, Suck and Moy rivers have all fallen, with the Brosna still rising upstream of Ferbane following some localised flooding in Offaly over the weekend.
As regards flooding in the Corbally area of Limerick city, John Barry of the Department of the Environment said that "significant water" in the Mulcair, Blackwater and Shannon rivers led to water levels in the nearby canal rising to "an unanticipated high level".
Mr Barry confirmed that Limerick City and County Council had access to the lock gates, but a delay in opening one due to the sheer weight of water led to some spillage.
Latest estimates show that about 100 people have now applied for the Department of Social Protection’s Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, which facilitates access to food, clothing, water and temporary accommodation for flood victims.
A similar number of companies have requested assistance from the Government’s €5 million flood relief programme for traders.
Flood relief
Following meetings with Teagasc in Athlone on Monday, the Irish Farmers' Association has called on the Government to introduce a broader flood relief scheme, which would include farmers whose lands have been affected.
The ESB has said that water discharge from Parteen Weir will remain at 440 cubic centimetres per second on Tuesday, after water levels in Lough Derg stabilised following the weekend rain.
It said the level of water flow “is likely to continue to have associated flooding to land and property in the vicinity of the Shannon downstream of Parteen Weir”.
These areas include Springfield, Montpelier, Castleconnell, Mountshannon (Annacotty) and the University of Limerick.
Elsewhere, Westmeath County Council said the Shannon is approximately 60 cm above its normal winter flow levels, but that the water has been "kept at bay" for the most part, with the exception of three houses that were flooded last week.
It sought to reassure shoppers that only a small area of the town is affected and that there has been no direct damage caused to high street traders.
“All of the roads and streets are open, all car parks are clear and all of the shops, hotels, bars and restaurants are open for business and will remain open in the normal fashion,” the council said.