The big freeze - State staff deserve a huge thanks

PRAISE for public servants is praise indeed. Much maligned and often criticised, there is no denying those responsible for delivering vital services to the public performed heroically under pressure during the most severe weather conditions since records began.

Thanks to the bravery of ambulance crews, soldiers and voluntary groups many people were given a new lease on life during the Christmas freeze.

That the HSE has commended those at the coalface is entirely fitting. Were it not for their selfless actions, seriously ill children would not have reached hospital in time for urgent treatment. Nor would injured patients from remote areas have received life saving operations.