Further disruption as snow returns across the country

Snowfall has been causing disruption across several parts of Ireland.

A Status orange snow-ice warning has been extended to 6pm for seven counties, including Dublin.

Scattered snow showers are forecast to continue during Sunday and could lead to accumulations in places with some drifting.

Gardai have issued a warning to motorists to take care on the roads as there may be black ice in places.

Some Dublin bus routes have been curtailed due to the weather and Bus Eireann said there has been disruption to services in the eastern region.

Flight operations at Dublin Airport were suspended for 40 minutes on Sunday morning to clear snow from the runway, but have since resumed.

The snowfall has led to the cancellation of a number of events to mark the St Patrick’s Bank Holiday weekend.

The Big Day Out event in Merrion Square in Dublin was called off, alongside a number of tours.

Grand slam heroes Ireland were also forced to cancel their homecoming party at the Aviva Stadium due to the bad weather.

In Wicklow, there have been reports of snow drifts of up to 900mm, the local council said.

A tractor-mounted snow plough, a JCB, two agri-loaders and an additional Council gritter and snow plough have been mobilised to clear main routes in worst hit areas of the county.

The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government said all relevant agencies have severe weather emergency plans in place.

Cold weather initiatives for rough sleepers are in place and additional capacity has been put in place to ensure there are extra bed spaces available for rough sleepers the department said.

“While local authorities and Transport Infrastructure Ireland are working at ploughing and salting the primary routes, driving on secondary roads in affected areas will be very difficult.

“The key message is, as always, to avoid unnecessary travel  over the weekend,” the department added.

The National Directorate for Fire and Management is monitoring the situation.