Renewed snowfalls bring further chaos to county

Fresh snowfalls throughout the county on Monday night and Tuesday morning added to the chaos which has brought the county to a virtual standstill over the past week. Extensive work to clear roads and footpaths around the county which had taken place over the previous days was wiped out by a fresh blanket of snow after falls of up to five inches hit Meath on Monday night. Driving conditions around the county were extremely hazardous on Monday night and Tuesday morning as inches of fresh snow lay on top of roads that were already icy. Council staff were out for most of Monday night with snowploughs, concentrating on priority routes. Snow-ploughing took place in the Slane area to ensure that the N51 between Navan and Drogheda remained passable, as it is a hospital route. The N2 from Kilmoon Cross to Collon, was closed for much of yesterday (Tuesday) but by lunchtime route had reopened. As treacherous road conditions threatened essential services, a major countywide effort involving Meath County Council, Meath Civil Defence, the Defence Forces, the HSE, Meath River Rescue and the Order of Malta, as well as many community groups around the county, ensured that public health nurses, hospital staff, Meals-on-Wheels and other vital community services continued. While a thaw is predicted tomorrow (Thursday), roads are expected to remain hazardous for several days and with further Arctic conditions predicted for early next week, there is no end in sight to the difficult conditions. Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, reported an increase in the numbers attending with injuries as pedestrians fell on icy footpaths and there were a number of minor accidents as vehicles skidded in the icy conditions. Many workers were unable to get to work around the county and the commute to Dublin was extremely hazardous, while farmers throughout the county reported difficulty in milk collections and transporting fodder to animals. Concern has been expressed for the county's many elderly residents, many of whom have been housebound for up to 10 days now and various organisations have been urging people to call on their elderly neighbours. Most schools around the county have been closed for well over a week, and many sporting and community events have been cancelled. As the hazardous conditions continue, motorists are being urged to only undertake essential travel. Meath County Council snowploughs were in operation yesterday morning (Tuesday) on the N2 and the Slane-Drogheda Road as well as the Navan-Athboy-Delvin road, the Clonmellon to Ardee road and the Kilcock to Trim road. Council staff were also clearing snow at hills and junctions. Meath County Council is continuing to urge consumers throughout the county to conserve water for essential use only and are urging consumers to check outbuildings and field troughs for leaks, which should be reported to the Water Conservation Office on (046) 909 7350. Water pressure continues to be reduced in the Navan area to keep up with demand. A burst water mains in Glenveigh Estate on the Boyne Road saw householders without water for several hours as staff worked to repair the problem yesterday (Tuesday). While most Bus Éireann services around the country are operating as per normal, the north-east area has seen a number of delays, diversions and cancellations over the past week. The Navan Town Service has been cancelled for several days and many routes have been experiencing delays because of weather conditions. According to the latest update issued by Bus Eireann yesterday (Tuesday), the Navan/DCU 109A service is not operating via Ashbourne and Ratoath. Other services affected yesterday included: Route 107, Dublin/Kingscourt which operated to and from Navan only; Route 108, Dublin/Bailieboro which operated to and from Kells only; Route 177, Dublin/Monaghan which was not serving Slane, Collon or Ardee; Route 111 Cavan/Athboy which operated from Cavan to Granard only; Route 163 Drogheda/Donore was cancelled; Route 188 Drogheda/Trim was cancelled; Route 190 Drogheda/Laytown was cancelled. There were also disruptions over the past week to Irish Rail's services between M3 Parkway and Clonsilla with several services cancelled. The M3 Parkway route was suspended on Saturday and Sunday as points problems were causing major delays to both Maynooth and the M3 but most services had resumed by Monday.