An Arctic airmass will bring snow, ice and bitterly cold conditions to Ireland – sparking concerns for the elderly and the homeless and potentially leading to school closures.
Temperatures are set to plunge to as low as -10C next week, prompting warnings for road users and farmers, while a leading homeless campaigner has said it could be a ‘life-or-death situation’ for those sleeping rough.
In its forecast for next week, Met Éireann warned of ‘treacherous conditions with some significant accumulations of lying snow, along with widespread severe frost and ice’. It issued a yellow cold weather warning for last night, with -3C due in places after darkness fell.
While snow is expected over the weekend, the coldest of the weather will come early next week, with temperatures set to plummet as low as -10C on Tuesday night, along with dense freezing fog.
A meeting will take place between Met Éireann and Local Authority Severe Weather Assessment Teams today to discuss the impact of the Arctic blast. CEO of older persons charity Alone, Seán Moynihan, told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘The cold weather snap is a public health issue for older people so they need to make smart choices… Even if you’re short on money, our message would be to prioritise heating, medication and food.
If you’re worried about the potential of increased costs that’s an issue for another day.’ Alone’s services are open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
The charity, which supports older people, also has a cold weather response to support those in need. Aubrey McCarthy, co-founder of homeless and addiction charity Tiglin, said queues were forming outside the Lighthouse Café in Dublin yesterday, where volunteers were handing out warm clothes and hot food.
He warned: ‘People who can’t get accommodation, or are sleeping rough because they have other difficulties, will face dire conditions.
‘They are extremely vulnerable and are at risk. Imagine if you had come from Palestine or Syria, places where the Irish weather would be extreme, and you are trying to navigate survival at -5C or -10C – we are talking about lives at stake. ‘We know we are giving out hot stews, socks, hats and scarves, but as temperatures plummet the people coming to us are not just fighting the cold, they are fighting for survival.
This is a life-or-death situation.’ A man died in January last year while sleeping rough during cold weather on St Andrew’s Street in Dublin city. Mr McCarthy said asylum seekers were generally referred to temporary accommodation within 48 hours, while native rough sleepers were referred to the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, which expands its emergency accommodation capacity during periods of cold weather.
There are currently more than 3,000 International Protection Applicants registered in Ireland who do not have a home, he said. Gary Gannon, education spokesman for the Social Democrats, said that the country is consistently ‘unprepared for cold weather, despite temperatures plummeting every year’.
He urged the Government to ‘act now’ to ensure ‘vital’ services such as schools can remain open in a safe manner. ‘The Government needs to ensure that local authorities are adequately prepared and resourced for freezing temperatures,’ he said. Sinn Féin’s education spokeswoman Sorca Clarke TD, said that special attention must be paid to access roads to schools in small towns, ‘as many will be untreated, and potentially dangerous’ in the days ahead.
Ms Clarke also called on the Department to make additional funding available for schools that do not have functioning heating systems.
A Department of Education spokesperson said ‘there is a possibility that some schools will choose to close’, but those decisions were down to the management of individual schools, and would be based on child safety.
‘Areas for consideration include maintenance of premises and utilities, salting and gritting and transport to and from school and having regard to local conditions,’ he said. When asked by the Mail if there was space to cater for all rough sleeping migrants during the cold snap, the Department of Integration said: ‘Our teams continue to manage a very limited supply of accommodation, prioritising people with families or who are identified as vulnerable on assessment.’
The Department of Integration said last night that it had activated its cold weather response plan to enhance safety measures for people seeking international protection, focusing on the homeless and those in its tented accommodation sites.
A spokesperson for the Dublin Region Homeless Executive confirmed yesterday that as part of the Cold Weather Strategy for 2024 to 2025, it has 192 permanent beds available for rough sleepers. She said there are an additional 82 beds that can be activated in cases of extreme weather.
Met Éireann said this weekend will be very cold, with ‘very disruptive and impactful’ weather likely in the days ahead, with the possibility of heavy rain, sleet and snow. The snow is set to begin tomorrow night, away from the south and southwest. Sunday will bring further falls of rain, sleet and some further significant snowfall accumulations for a time.
It will gradually become drier from the west later in the day as the area of low pressure moves away eastwards. Members of the public who are concerned about anyone sleeping rough can contact the Dublin Region Homeless Executive via its website, call 01 872 0185 or use its free app Dublin City Rough Sleeper Alerts.
Alone can be contacted via its national support line on 0818222024. helen.b
