Call to reopen schools as freeze starts to thaw

The Government today faced calls to reopen 4,000 schools which were shut down amid concerns over the near-Arctic weather.

With many areas experiencing a thaw after days of snow, ice and freezing temperatures, Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes called for the nationwide closures to be reversed.

On Friday, Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe ordered schools to close until Thursday amid safety and welfare concerns.

Mr Hayes praised the initial decision but said the blanket shutdown should be lifted and the power to reopen given back to Boards of Governors.

“Virtually all schools in the country will have been closed for three weeks,” the Fine Gael TD said.

“Reopening our schools at this stage, where that is possible, is the right thing to do. The minister should now vary his order as soon as possible.”

Parts of Munster were hit hard by snow showers over the weekend but the rest of the country escaped the worst of the wintry conditions for the first time in almost a fortnight.

Up to 5cm (2in) of snow fell in Cork, with the airport closed for several hours and many roads in the north of the county closed to traffic.

Slightly milder temperatures and rain across much of Leinster saw a big thaw take effect.

Met Eireann has forecast rain across the country tomorrow and also warned of localised flooding in some places.

Experts said there will be a significant temperature rise on Friday as a very strong southerly wind develops, lifting temperatures to between 6C (42.8F) and 10C (50F) and bringing a general thaw.