Wexford County Council continues to prepare as a spell of highly disruptive cold weather approaches Ireland.
This afternoon, the Council held a further meeting of it’s Emergency Management Team, which was also attended by members of An Garda Siochána and the HSE. A decision was taken to formally activate Wexford County Council’s Severe Weather Plan, which include a number of formal emergency management actions.
The Council’s fleet of specialist vehicles and equipment for dealing with snow has been fully mobilised and the Council’s salt stores are at full capacity, with more than 1,100 tonnes of salt stockpiled in anticipation of the severe weather.
The Council’s six salting trucks will be on standby from 1.30pm on Wednesday, fully loaded with snow ploughs fitted.
Drivers and helpers will also be on standby and will work 12 hour shifts. Salting will continue until Saturday at 1.30pm, which will be reviewed at that point. These trucks will deal with National Roads and Priority 1, 2 and some Priority 3 Regional Roads.
All other roads will be dealt with at Borough/ Municipal District level, with priority being given to the Local Primary Roads.
Wexford County Council has arranged for quantities of grit to be made available free of charge to members of the public, with stockpiles available at the following locations:
- Enniscorthy District Roadstone Brownswood
- New Ross District Oaklands Quarry, Ballykelly, New Ross;
- Wexford District Mulpool Ltd, Inish, Kilmore and Whitemill Council Depot, Wexford Town
- Gorey District Inch Creamery and O’Sullivan Agri, Camolin
Arrangements have also been put in place to ensure those persons known to be homeless or “sleeping rough” across County Wexford have access to food supplies and shelter. As an exceptional measure, Wexford County Council’s Housing Department has established a 24-hour Temporary Emergency Homeless Shelter at the Presentation Centre, Enniscorthy, which opened on Tuesday afternoon.
The Centre will cater for all adult males during this extreme weather event. Women and children will be accommodated through Wexford County Council’s existing emergency accommodation arrangements.
Wexford County Council continues to advise the public to heed Met Eireann’s weather warnings as the week progresses. People are asked to ensure elderly or vulnerable neighbours have adequate food supplies and heating in place. Further advice on preparing for and dealing with extremely cold conditions and snow is available at www.winterready.ie
Stay tuned to South East Radio for further weather updates and the latest information on closures and cancellations.
