Snow fallout ‘isn’t over’

Parts of Cork are not out of the woods yet following last week’s severe snowfall and freezing temperatures, with the full extent of damage still to be revealed.

That’s according to Padraig Barrett, Director of Services, Planning and Development at Cork County Council who has warned that it will take days to remove snow from roads and towns despite recent warmer temperatures.

It will only be then that the true extent of damage will be clear.

Speaking at Monday’s full meeting of Cork County Council, Mr Barrett said roads in particular have been badly damaged by the weather, especially in the north and northwestern parts of the county.

He said: “This isn’t over. There are still dangerous conditions.

“Snow will take days to disappear from roads.

“Unfortunately, it’s certain that our roads have become severely damaged by the quantity of rain and snow and ice.

“We’ve had calls already about potholes around the county.

“We’ll assess that damage over the coming days,” added Mr Barrett.

In a detailed report of all actions taken by the council during last week’s devastating weather event, Mr Barrett said that Sunday night was the first night in 12 days that salt and grit was not applied to roads.

So far overall, approximately 4,500 tonnes of salt have been used to treat the roads around the county.

According to the report, up to 50cm of snow fell in parts of the county with the Kanturk Mallow areas seeing the worst of it.

Since last Monday, aside from using all snow ploughs and salting vehicles at its disposal, the council has been using multiple local contractors to assist with the clearing of roads, towns, and villages.

Following the report, Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Joe Carroll, heaped praise on the council’s outdoor staff in their efforts throughout the weather event.

“They went above and beyond their call of duty,” he said.

“The response of Cork County Council just couldn’t be any better,” added the mayor.

He also praised members of the public who “came out without being asked” to help in any way they could.

Cllr Ian Doyle, Fianna Fáil, added this had been the most devastating weather event in North Cork since the 1960s.

He said: “We’ve seen our schools closed, our businesses closed, and people cut off totally from civilization. From the engineers down to the people who are on the ground, they were unbelievable.

“24/7, as late as yesterday afternoon, they were still working.

“It’s incredible. We often get abuse and we often get criticism, but last week proved what outdoor staff are to Cork County Council. They were fantastic,” added Cllr Doyle.