Micheál Martin has rejected Peadar Tóibín’s accusation that Met Éireann are catastrophising “winter weather”.

As Ireland experiences a cold snap which has left people in certain areas of the country trapped in their homes without running water or electricity, Tánaiste Micheál Martin has “completely” rejected Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín’s claims that Met Éireann is devaluing weather warnings.

On The Pat Kenny Show, Deputy Tóibín said he believes there is an “overreaction” happening in regards to weather warnings.

“Now, I do understand that there are areas under snow and they're having real difficulty, and in those situations, absolutely the Orange weather warnings are absolutely valid, and people need to be careful on the roads and make sure that they change their plans accordingly in relation to that,” he said.

“But also, I am little bit amused, I think, by the fact that we have Status Orange cold weather warnings for areas that are just probably experiencing a frost at the moment.

I know that the Irish people love talking about the weather,

but issuing a status Orange low temperature warning for a temperature of -5 is crazy.

People should take care on the roads & mind older friends & family but this is not abnormal winter weather.

— Peadar Tóibín TD (@Toibin1) January 8, 2025

“On Tuesday, Met Éireann put out a Status Orange cold weather warning for 22 counties - many of those counties were dry, no snow, many of them had their temperatures reduced to about -3C.

“You know, unfortunately, when you put out those types of warnings, it does lead to a significant effect on communities - in some of those areas, schools didn't open or they opened late.

“In my constituency offices we were getting phone calls from older people hyper-worried about the weather and what it meant for them, etc, and I think there needs to be some level of perspective put into place.”

"Not normal weather"

Responding to these claims at a press conference earlier today, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that he would reject Deputy Tóibín’s claims “entirely”.

“I travelled up on Sunday - it was not normal weather, it was quite challenging and difficult, particularly in North Cork and coming through Tipperary,” he said.

“No one was catastrophising anything.

“I think we need to be careful here, because, I accept politicians are entitled to form opinions, but we've got to trust our agencies, we've got to trust Met Éireann.”

Snow and ice on the ground in County Tipperary. 09/01/2025 Image: Barry Whyte/Bauer Media

Mr Martin said it is “extremely difficult” to get absolute precision in relation to forecasting.

“We have very good quality people who are internationally well-recognised for their quality, academic standards and abilities, and I support them - they have our support from Government,” he said.

“Ultimately, it's the precautionary principle - it's about protecting lives - and the warnings are timely and needed to protect lives and avoid injury and I think that's the critical issue for us.”

"Met Éireann were correct"

The Tánaiste said he found it “interesting” that in the 24-hours following “the commencement of the this phase of the weather” that there were “sceptics” asking what all the warnings were about.

“Well, I think we found out that Met Éireann were correct in terms of their forecasting,” he said.

“When I spoke to them in advance, they said that this was a difficult one to forecast, because there's a number of phases to this cold spell, and the geography was challenging in terms of precisely which counties would suffer more than others, and that's what transpired.

“But I think there was sufficient warning given.”

Weather in Charleville, Cork. 07/01/2025 Image: Newstalk

Mr Martin praised state agencies, saying there has been “real challenges” in terms of power, electricity and water.

He added that the ESB is one of the “most experienced bodies around” and he believes they are responding “as effectively as they can and heroically” to the incremental weather.

Split image: Pear Tóibín (R) & Micheál Martin (L)