More than 60 of these private supplies were found to be contaminated with human or animal waste at least once during 2018.

A new report has suggested that agencies in charge of emergency services personnel may become more "defensive" about sending out their staff in extreme weather due to the threat of being criminally prosecuted if anything goes wrong.

An internal government report has concluded that the colour-coded weather warning system has "limitations" and is "not fully understood" by members of the public.

As for the busiest roads in Cork, the report stated: "Several sections of the N40 Cork Southern Ring Road carry in excess of 80,000 vehicles on an average day."

The furore around the Maria Bailey ‘swing gate’ case helped the public understand the costs bearing down on the insurance industry — but the Government will too quickly forget the lessons over insurance claims and high legal costs, according to FBD boss Fiona Muldoon.

Broadcaster, Pat Kenny has confirmed he is to provide financial support to a local residents' initiative in Dalkey seeking to challenge in the High Court a decision giving planning permission to a mixed use development for Bulloch Harbour.

A Tallaght man arrested following the looting of a Centra during Storm Emma last year has been sentenced to two years in prison with the final year suspended.

13 staff at Cork city’s Marks & Spencer's store have been told the company acted fairly toward them after they did not attend a shift during high wind and heavy snowfall last year.

Pessimistic forecasting, an urban focus, and too many weather warnings are among the most frequent complaints from members of the public to Met Éireann.

Insurance group FBD views the prospect of Britain crashing out of the EU without a trade deal in place as the single biggest headwind facing its performance this year.

Shoplifting amid chaotic scenes at an overcrowded shop during ‘Storm Emma’ contributed to the loss of €30,000 worth of stock.

Storm Emma hit Irish retailers for tens of millions of euros as the snow and winds kept customers away from the shops, figures indicate.

Cork man Padraig O’Reilly was named Irish Red Cross Volunteer of the Year 2018 this afternoon while 12-year-old Donegal native Sarah McConnellogue received the Irish Red Cross Young Volunteer of the Year Award.

Calls have been made for an independent review of Irish Water’s plans to spend €1.3bn building a system to pump drinking water from the Shannon to the greater Dublin area.

The Government says it can not support Sinn Féin legislation that would see most workplaces automatically closed during a status red weather alert.

The country’s first night café for homeless people received more than 22,000 referrals last year and dealt with almost 2,000 clients.

In February, Tipperary selector Shane Stapleton was concussed following an seemingly innocuous collision with Clare’s Jamie Malone at Cusack Park in Ennis. The incident triggered a frightening chain reaction with seizures, hospitalisation, and being unable to work for almost a month. Now fully recovered, he tells his story to John Fogarty

They were praised for selfless acts during Storm Ophelia and during Storm Emma, but fears have been raised about the declining number of Civil Defence volunteers in Cork city and county.

Grocery shops got an unexpected windfall from the snow drifts and Storm Emma, with shoppers’ bulk-buying of milk, bread, and, alcohol helping to add €9.6m in sales in a week, according to Nielsen data.

Fundraising efforts are underway for a young student who is paralysed from the chest down after he fell while out in the snow with friends prior to the red alert for Storm Emma earlier this month.

Motorists including council staff this morning were faced with icicles falling off the cliff face and down onto the road.

This morning's headlines:

The lasting value of that sliver of wisdom packaged as a proverb — “Ní hé lá na gaoithe lá na scolb” (The windy day isn’t the day for thatching) — was shown again when the impossible-to-miss warnings of the recent dire and dangerous weather, and a lot of snow, were vindicated.

Nine out of 10 people think the red weather alert issued by Met Éireann during Storm Emma was justified.

A yellow weather warning is in place for the entire country this evening.

There were 649 patients on trolleys in emergency departments or on wards waiting for a hospital bed yesterday, a decrease of just 65 on Monday’s record high of 714.

Peter Dowdall says despite common thinking, the snow had many benefits to your plants

The couple were due to get married on Friday, March 2 right in the middle of the red warning.

Severe pressure on health and water services are being tackled by staff nationwide as the massive clean-up continues in the aftermath of Storm Emma.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has called for the first two weeks of March to be declared, and treated, as an emergency period in the Irish public health service.

Around 10,000 homes and businesses are left without water this morning while more than 120,000 have restricted supplies.

Thousands of people remain without electricity and water this morning, while water rationing may be imposed in some areas as the country struggles to recover from the ravaging Beast from the East.

The public has been warned of flooding across many areas as the thaw after Storm Emma begins.

A teenager who suffered life-changing neck injuries in a fall while taking photos of the snow is expected to be transferred to Dublin for specialist treatment.

Your morning bulletin...

A teenager is in critical condition in hospital in Cork tonight after a freak weather-related accident on the northside of city.

Cork City Council has advised that it has upgraded its Severe Weather Alert to level 3 status and it has activated its Crisis Management Team.

The country is facing total shutdown from 4pm today with people ordered to stay indoors, schools and colleges closed, rail and bus services halted, and motorists warned it would be “suicidal” to take to the roads.

Heavy snow has caused more misery for travellers overnight - with the wintry weather disruption set to continue during the morning rush hour in the UK.

With 75km/h winds causing waves to spill over the lakes barriers and freeze, the car was covered in water and naturally, it froze over.

Here are all the latest headlines this lunchtime...