28,000 homes, farms and businesses are without power as a result of the cold weather event affecting several counties across the country.

The worst affected areas are Limerick, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois and Wicklow.

Ireland’s Weather Channel’s Cathal Nolan has said that conditions will only get colder throughout the week.

“Well, it certainly is a very cold morning across the country, temperatures hovering around freezing in many parts,” he said.

“Now, it is expected to remain, and temperatures are set to drop away down as low as minus five, minus six, as we get into tonight.

“Still a very wintery picture over the next couple of days, and then we get the cold temperatures as we get into the middle of the week, down as low as minus 12, minus 13.”

Snowfall in Munterconnaught, Virginia, Cavan. 01/03/2024

Councils will be treating roads across the country covered by snow this morning.

The Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management has said it has 160 thousand tons of salt in stock to grit roads.

It will meet at 11 o'clock this morning to hear from all local authorities on what local conditions are like.

Fire and Emergency Management National Director Keith Leonard has said authorities will work to make roads 'as passable as possible'.

“So, we’ve had fairly significant falls of snowfall across the country overnight," he said.

"Councils and Transport Infrastructure Ireland are working now to try and clear and plough that snow across the motorway network and the primary roads and to treat those roads to try and make them as passable as possible."

Workers' safety

A CEO at a consultancy firm has said that workers' safety during the extreme weather needs to be paramount for employers.

If public transport is not operating due to the weather conditions, employers are exposed to risks of claims by employees who suffer accidents on their journey to work, according to CEO at HR Buddy Damien McCarthy.

“Severe weather events can impact on a worker's ability to report for work and an employer's ability to operate their business and to be able to provide work,” he said.

“So, it’s important that the employment contract specifies when an employee cannot attend work because of extreme weather events.

“These are more regular events nowadays, so workplaces should have an extreme weather event policy in place in their organisation.”

ESB Networks crews are currently restoring power where safe to do so.

Information about outages and restoration times is available on www.PowerCheck.ie.

Featured image: Snow at Slade Valley Golf Club, Brittas, Co Dublin. © PA Wire/PA Images