Dublin City’s response to the severe cold spell over the past three weeks was seriously compromised by Government cutbacks, the City Council heard yesterday.
The Council passed an emergency motion blaming a lack government funding for the City’s poor response.
According to the motion, tabled by Cllr Christy Burke, “The shortage of staff and senior management, which appears to be the result of Government cut-backs, over this Christmas period led to poor provision of maintenance services over what is always a very busy period regardless of the harsh weather.”
During the cold snap only seven crews were available to grit the main roads into the capital city. This increased to 35 over the weekend when heavy snow fall was predicted with some staff were redeployed from other departments to clear major roadways and paths in the city.
In spite of this the council was unable still to git many areas, including bus routes, which it would have normally.
Despite the improved weather on Monday the city is still facing severe disruption with the cold spell set to continue until the weekend