TEMPERATURES will plummet to an arctic -17C, it was predicted today.
The dire warning came as Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and EnvironmentMinister John Gormley were criticised for allowing the nation grind to ahalt.
Tens of thousands of commuters were again forced to pass hours stuck intraffic today while hundreds of schools close for a quarter day.
"The administration is spending €
18k on Justice Minister Dermot Ahern'spension. It would be best spent on buying snow ploughs," said asenior garda dealing with the chaos today.
Parts of the great were inaccessible to public transport today, includingSandymount, Lucan, Blackrock and Knocklyon.
At about 10am today, heavy snow fell throughout Dublin again.
Swords and surrounding areas were hit with blizzard conditions for a prolongedspell.
A truck lost its wheel at the Pavilions shopping center in the North Co Dublinsuburb, causing further traffic delays.
Public transportation services were packed out as many commuters opted not to taketheir cars to work.
Many had been cornered in long tailbacks last night as big snow descended onthe capital.
A truck jack-knifed on Ellis Quay last night during the heyday period fortraffic, exacerbating delays.
Queued
At Connolly yesterday evening, Irish Rail closed the place for 20 minutes toclear the backlog while hundreds queued to get tickets.
Passengers were wedged inside an underpass while waiting for trains.
The scenes were sparked by very dangerous road conditions and the suspensionof Dublin Bus services.
Buses vehicles had to draw over on main roads because surfaces were too icy.
In many areas, the vehicles came to a complete stop and passengers wereordered off and had to walk home.
Near record lows are expected in Leinster over the following few days, with thewind chill plunging temperatures to -17C over the upcoming days.
The cold cracking is costing small businesses up to €7m a day in lost productivityand revenue.
Extreme
The Defense Forces have been delivering hot meals and medical supplies topeople cut-off by the extreme weather.
They have been focus on Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare, Cork and Wexford.
Dublin City Council has warned it may give to ration its provision of grit, with4,000 tonnes being broadcast nationally every day.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) has 50,000 tonnes available, with a furtherdelivery of 15,000 tonnes expected.
Siobhan Moore of the Dublin Airport Authority said the aerodrome opened justafter midnight following the third closure.
"This morning, we have normal operations at Dublin Airport. We had extensivesnow and ice clearance of the main runways, taxi ways and associated areas,"Ms Moore said.
Dublin Bus, which suspended all its operations last night, was hoping to runservices on all routes throughout today.
Cliodhna Ni Fhatharta of Dublin Bus said: "But we even cause some curtailmentsand diversions.
"The weather were still hard but we're still making every effort andwe have been since early this morn to get as many services out aspossible," she said.
"We receive a bus operating on all the corridors," the spokeswoman added.
DART services experienced 30-minute delays on the southside this morning butnorthside services ran as normal.
Andrew McLindon of Bus Eireann said there are delays and diversions to busesin the eastward of the country.
Nicola Hudson of AA Roadwatch said fresh and compacted snow was a majorproblem in Leinster and the south east.
Ms Hudson said fresh snow in Co Kildare were causing extremely dangerousconditions for motorists. Motorways were low to one lane in many parts.
A jack-knifed truck partially blocked the Navan to Nobber Road.
Conditions right across Meath and Louth were very dangerous once again,particularly on hilly stretches of the counties.
The Mash to Greystones Road at Windgate Hill was tolerable with extreme carethis morning but it was treacherous along Farrankelly Road into Greystones.
Priory Road in Delgany was impassable, while Sally Gap and Wicklow Gap wereboth closed off.
Blocked
Black ice was causing major difficulties in parts of Munster and Connacht.
In Galway, an accident occurred on the M18 Cusheen to Gort Road, with one laneof the roadway blocked.
Very bad ice affected drivers on the N16 Sligo to Manorhamilton Road
- Cormac Murphy
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