Chamber of Commerce puts cost to Dublin at €120m

IRELAND’S weather crisis has cost the capital at least €120 million in the past 48 hours, with public transport paralysed and businesses forced to close.

The Dublin Chamber of Commerce (DCC) has confirmed that despite emergency safety measures introduced in the city to cope with the big freeze, the Irish economy has still been hit hard by the crisis.

According to the group, Dublin city accounts for 40% of Ireland’s annual €180 billion gross national product (GNP), resulting in an average weekly income of €1.5 billion.

However, the DCC has calculated that €80m was lost on Wednesday. Since then it calculates that a further €40m has been cut from GNP.

“We recognise the four Dublin local authorities are faced with a limited supply of salt and grit. However, responding by conserving this supply for the main roads is not effective in keeping our capital operating,” DCC chief executive Gina Quin said.