Mary Lou sees flood damage
»»Wintry weather as Yellow warning for ice put in place »»SF’S Mary Lou meets residents affected by deluge
SNOW could fall on parts of Ireland today as the cold snap continues, adding to the misery of flood-hit communities.
Mary Lou Mcdonald met “frustrated” residents living in the worst affected areas.
The Sinn Fein leader again called for a single statutory body to manage the River Shannon as conditions worsened.
Met Eireann issued a Status Yellow snow and ice warning across Ireland from 6am yesterday to 9am today.
The body issued warnings of wintry showers, mainly of hail and sleet, throughout today, leading to icy patches.
Flooding remains in Athlone, Co Westmeath, and Carrick-on-shannon in Co Leitrim. Ms Mcdonald, accompanied by TDS Sorca Clarke and Claire Kerrane, spoke to families hit hard by the floods at a hotel in Athlone yesterday.
She said: “We need a single statutory body that takes charge from Waterways Ireland and the ESB and local authorities, we need a coherent structure that can manage, that can plan and that can renew the River Shannon.
“I know there is considerable frustration and considerable anger that there is almost a cycle, we return every number of years to this situation, where people’s homes, farms and farm lands are flooded, where roads are impassable.
“Local people tell me that the big difficulties there are not being listened to.
“The big difficulty is that the Shannon is not being managed and it seems to local people there is a lack of political will and a lack of seriousness, in terms of not just providing flood defences, but also flood warnings and having a coherent management plan and structure in a single statutory body to actually manage the Shannon.
“I always believe there is great local wisdom, that smart government, smart policy makers should happen, so we are here to listen today.
“We need to do something here definitively, we cannot go from one crisis to another and I am very conscious that it turns people’s lives upside down.
“It causes enormous stress and hardship so we need to crack this one.
“People here aren’t going to tolerate cycles of
flooding again and again.”
Meanwhile Met Eireann said it will be cold and bright today with some sunny spells and scattered showers of rain, hail and sleet but with a few isolated snow showers possible.
Temperatures will stay between 4C to 6C for the day before plummeting below zero tonight.
It follows a Status Yellow warning for snow and ice which was active across the entire country yesterday and which saw schools forced to shut and flights cancelled. A forecaster said:
“A cold bright day, with sunny spells and scattered showers. “The showers mainly a mix of rain, hail and sleet, but a few isolated snow showers still possible in the north and west.
“Winds mostly light to moderate west to south-west in direction.
“On Wednesday night, rain and sleet will affect southern counties early in the night will clear later in the night.
“Elsewhere there will be clear spells and isolated showers although most places will stay dry. In the north-west when showers do occur, they may turn wintry on hills.
“Very cold overnight countrywide, with sharp or severe frost and icy stretches. Minimum temperatures of 0C to -3C with mostly light winds.”
Tomorrow will be brighter and slightly warmer, with temperatures rising marginally to 8C in places.
Met Eireann said: “Thursday will be mostly dry and bright, with sunny spells to start, scattered wintry showers will affect the north and north-west and may carry further south and east at times.
“Another cold day with highest temperatures of 5C to 8C, in moderate or fresh west to north-west breezes, backing south-west and easing later. There will be a frost at first on Thursday night, clearing through the night as cloud builds.”
Rainy outbreaks and hill snow is expected on Friday morning before breaking into showers and sunny spells in the afternoon.
A forecaster added: “Temperatures will rise with southerly winds developing, but another spell of rain later on Friday or in to the early hours of Saturday will mark the transition back to colder conditions.
“The current indications for the weather this weekend is for another cold, breezy day on Saturday with wintry showers, the winds will ease a little for Sunday with showers mostly affecting western coastal areas.”