Dublin City Council has redeployed 500 staff to help remove ice and snow from areas of high pedestrian use as stocks of salt for gritting roads reach critical levels.
The council confirmed earlier it had less than one day’s supply left and that all available salt and grit would be used on the city's roads and not on footpaths or in areas of high pedestrian traffic.
Council staff have been redeployed from waste management, drainage and parks departments to assist the staff in roads maintenance to clear areas of high pedestrian use, however. Staff carried out work on Grafton Street and O’Connell Street today.
An additional 200 staff from the parks department are working in different areas of the city, with a particular focus on the main hospitals.
Earlier, a spokesman for the authority said salt and grit supplies were being rationed but deliveries were expected tomorrow from Britain, Northern Ireland and Cork.
“We will take whatever we are given,”
Dublin City Council chief engineer Michael Phillips said.
Only main roads will be treated, with the City Council warning that footpaths would not be treated as resources were not available.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Phillips had said there would be no gritting of footpaths and secondary routes due to stock levels.
“While you know there’s going to be snow in Dublin, you don’t the exact locations, so there’s no point in wasting salt which is in scare commodities these days,” he added.
Mr Phillips said the council had used two days' supply of salt in the past 24 hours.
Over the past few weeks, the council used some 1,000 tonnes of salt - more than double used during most winters.