Fingal County Council UPDATE (19:00)Snow Storm – Situation Update
We have been regular updates from Fingal County Council with very clear and precise information. Please take time to read these posts and share with people who may not be aware.
Fingal County Council staff gritting paths in Malahide today.
The Council’s Crisis Management Team had its second meeting of the day at 12.30pm in County Hall, Swords with a video link to members of the team who are based in the Civic Offices, Blanchardstown. This was followed by a conference call at 6.30pm and there will be another conference call tomorrow morning at 10.30am. Updates were given in relation to situation at local, regional and national level. A red alert warning is currently in place for Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Wicklow and Meath from 5am today until 12 noon tomorrow after heavy snow fell overnight. Met Éireann has also issued a red alert snow-ice warning for Leinster which covers the period from 4pm on Thursday until 12 noon on Friday when the worst of the weather is expected to hit. Having considered the Met Éireann warning, and the likely impacts of blizzard conditions, and for reasons of public safety in blizzard-like conditions, the National Emergency Coordination Group is advising that people should not venture out of doors while the Red Warning in in place in their area. Given the forecast and the advice from the National Emergency Co-Ordination Centre, the Council’s public offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday and any changes will be posted on our social media accounts. The Council continue to provide essential services and remains focused on keeping all roads listed as either Priority 1 or Priority 2 open. These roads were salted and ploughed at 4am and again at 8am this morning and 3.30pm this afternoon. The crews are scheduled to go out again at 7pm and at 4am and 8am tomorrow morning.
At present all roads in Fingal remain open to traffic but conditions are still poor and drivers are advised to continue to exercise caution and reduce their speed. Other crews from the Operations Department were deployed during the day to grit footpaths in villages and towns across the county. All public parks in Fingal will remain closed until further notice due to the inclement weather. The Estuary Recycling Centre in Swords and the Recycling Centre in Coolmine have also been closed until further notice. The libraries in Howth, Donabate and Garristown were closed today and the other libraries closed at 3pm. All libraries in Fingal will be closed tomorrow and Friday. All graveyards under the control of Fingal County Council will be closed on Friday and the Cash Office in Swords and Blanchardstown is closed tomorrow and Friday. Members of the public can submit reports of issues caused by snowfall and low temperatures to www.fixyourstreet.ie. Issues can also be phoned to 01 873141. These reports will be logged and assessed. Reports of people sleeping rough should be phoned to 1800 707 707. Information is being continually posted on the Fingal Alerts app as well as our Twitter and Facebook accounts.