Ireland school closures update as weather could extend shutdowns for the rest of the week
Many schools across Ireland shut today due to severe weather, with snow and freezing conditions causing travel mayhem. Education Minister Norma Foley issued an update on RTE's Morning Ireland and talked about the possibility of extended closures thro
A number of schools have remained closed after the Christmas holidays due to severe weather. Ireland is currently engulfed in a bitter cold snap, with forecasts indicating that conditions will worsen over the coming days.
Significant snow blanketed parts of Munster and south Leinster over the weekend and with temperatures expected to drop even further this week, the snow is expected to linger and melt slowly.
Met Eireann has issued a nationwide Status Yellow weather warning for low temperatures and ice that lasts until midnight on Friday. It said: "Very cold nights with widespread frost, ice and lying snow. Temperatures struggling to get above freezing during the day. Potential impacts include hazardous travelling conditions on roads and underfoot and travel disruption."
Snow is forecast to continue throughout the week, initially affecting northern and western areas before spreading northeast by mid-week. Temperatures are also expected to plummet to as low as -8C at times.
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As a result, many schools - primary, secondary and third level - in Carlow, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick and Tipperary remained shut today due to snow accumulations and travel disruption. With the cold weather set to intensify, some schools may remain closed for the rest of the week.
Education Minister Norma Foley confirmed that a "substantial" number of schools in these areas closed today, although most schools have opened as usual. She told RTE's Morning Ireland that schools are best placed to make decisions regarding reopening, stating that no two situations are identical.
"I'm mindful that no two situations are the same for schools and I trust the schools to make the right decisions and the best decisions," she said.
On the possibility of extended closures, Minister Foley said that some schools may decide to facilitate online classes "where it is feasible to do so", but noted that some households are currently without power or water.
She said there has been unprecedented levels of snowfall in her native county of Kerry, as well as neighbouring areas: "There has been unprecedented levels of snowfall. I have never seen the level of snowfall we've experienced in Kerry."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said yesterday that while it is anticipated that most schools will open as normal this morning, in areas affected by severe weather some schools may take a decision to close due to local conditions and safety concerns.
The spokesperson said: "A decision to close a school is a matter for individual school management authorities around the country as they are best placed to do this in light of local weather conditions, which vary in regions. As school transport services may operate on rural, secondary roads, which may be untreated, this could result in disruption during a spell of adverse weather. Safety remains the foremost priority. If a school plans to close or where transport is affected, communications of all such decisions will issue locally between schools and parents or transport providers and parents.
"The Department of Education, along with other government departments, will continue to carefully monitor developments with the weather and engage with key stakeholders."
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