News Friday, January 8, 2010 D The Big Freeze Going snowhere: Fine Gael transport spokesman Shane McEntee launches a campaign to get Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and Environment Minister John Gormley out of hiding to deal with the crisis brought on by the freezing weather Picture: Maxpix By Ross McDonagh Council criticised for refusing free grit for icy roads DUBLIN City Council has come under fire for refusing to take a number of quarries up on offers of grit for treat- ing the frozen roads. Several quarry managers contacted RTs Liveline programme claiming to have sand and other material suitable for gritting roads. They claimed some local au- thorities were availing of the cheap and in some cases free grit, but that Dublin City Council was refusing it. Sand supplies have been plentiful since the collapse of the housing market; Roadstone Depot in Wexford is of- fering a tonne of grit for just 10, while JJ Flood Quar- ries in Co Meath is offering it free to collect. However, a spokesman for Dublin City Council said much of the grit available in Irelands quarries was un- suitable for use on roads. He explained that salt dissolves snow and ice and re- duces the point of freezing, which delays the surface from immediately refreezing over; traditional grit is merely supposed to improve traction on top of the ice, but doesnt always have the desired effect. The good news is we are just after sourcing another 230 tonnes of salt which is going to see us through the next number of days, he said. That was sourced in the North of Ireland in Carrickfergus, and through a com- pany in Cork. Some 150 tonnes of the order is due to arrive today. Since the big freeze began on New Years Day, the council has already used 1,500 tonnes of grit; almost twice what was used in all of 2009, and three to five times the amount used in any year between 2002 and 2007. We are exhausting every avenue available to us, the spokesman added. He pointed out that 500 staff had been diverted from the councils waste, drainage and parks divisions to help road maintenance crews, while a further 200 staff from the parks divisions had been tasked with maintaining the roads and footpaths to all the citys hospitals. FOCUS Ireland has extended its opening hours as the freezing weather gets set to extend its unwelcome stay. The coffee shop and Advice and Information Service, which is based in Temple Bar will now be keeping its service open until 6pm when night shelters open, while the Extension Day Service, based in Francis Street, will stay open from 9.30am to 5pm as long as the cold spell continues. Charitys opening hours are extended THE Army was not deployed to clear snow and rescue commuters from the adverse weather conditions because it wasnt asked, Minister for Defence Willie ODea said yesterday. In an interview on Newstalk 106-108FM, which prompted some listeners to ring the station asking if it was a sketch, Mr ODea said: We werent asked. If asked, I would certainly have made army vehicles available. ODea says army not asked to help FORECASTERS say it will last another week, but bookies are taking bets it will be three times as long. Paddy Power is offering 7/4 that we will suffer a chilly 18 days of sub- zero conditions before temperatures rise. The odds on the cold spell continuing right up until February are 7/2 while its 10/1 that it will be March before the snap snaps. Bookies offer odds on cold snap lasting index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html