THE GARDAÍ have issued an urgent appeal to motorists to slow down and drive more carefully because of icy road conditions.
Insp John Ferris, of the Garda press office, said yesterday there was evidence from stations all over the country that some people were driving too fast and too close to cars in front of them.
At a briefing of the Severe Weather Co-ordination Group, Insp Ferris said gardaí were urgently appealing to all drivers to reduce their speeds and allow plenty of space between cars.
He said people should plan their car journeys carefully and, if possible, make trips during daytime. Mr Ferris also appealed to pedestrians to take extra care.
The warnings follow three deaths on the roads at the weekend. Yesterday morning a male pedestrian was fatally injured on the N11 at the White’s Cross junction near Blackrock.
A 35-year-old woman and her 10-year-old son died on Saturday following a single vehicle crash on the old M1 south of Castlebellingham in Co Louth.
At the briefing, Joan Blackburn of Met Éireann warned the freezing weather would stay until Christmas Eve. She forecast daytime temperatures would at best reach zero degrees, preventing any significant thaw.
Night-time temperatures would fall to between - 5 degrees and - 10 degrees. She said a lot of places would enjoy dry weather but there would be some snow showers. A thaw should set in on Christmas Day when a belt of rain would cross over the country, although this could fall as slow at first.
The continuing cold spell is posing a problem for local authorities and the National Roads Authority (NRA) due to dwindling salt and grit supplies.
There is currently a national stock of just 10,000 tonnes of salt, which is being used at a rate of about 2,000 tonnes per day, according to Seán O’Neill of the NRA.
He said salt supplies are currently being redistributed from the least affected counties to Donegal, Roscommon, Monaghan, Galway, Cavan, Kerry and Cork.
“We are taking from Peter to give to Paul,” he said.
He said two new shipments of salt are expected on Wednesday or Thursday in Belfast and Cork and that a logistics plan was already in place with some 130 trucks ready to distribute the salt.
Mr O’Neill said it was unclear whether the current spell of bad weather in Europe could delay the ships from docking in Ireland.
Asked about current salt shortages in particular counties, he said the framework policy document drawn up last year on salt supplies did not preclude any local authorities from purchasing salt themselves.
He said he couldn’t say whether any local authorities had purchased salt.