Snow - Ireland closed for business

Balanadan

When will the government and councils learn? Get the finger out, invest in proper equipment, and clear the facking roads so that we're not faced with annual chaos. The amount of money being lost is ridiculous.

Dtp1979

Is it snowing?

D3V!L

It's grand here in "town"

Wanderer78

Balanadan wrote:

When will the government and councils learn? Get the finger out, invest in proper equipment, and clear the facking roads so that we're not faced with annual chaos. The amount of money being lost is ridiculous.

Increase in taxation, that ll go down well at election time

Purgative

I want snow.

Renegade Mechanic

Drivers need to learn to drive too. If I get stuck behind one more 2nd gear crawler, I'll blow the ditch away to get around them :mad:

Wanderer78

Renegade Mechanic wrote:

Drivers need to learn to drive too. If I get stuck behind one more 2nd gear crawler, I'll blow the ditch away to get around them

Go for it, drives as fast as possible over the ditch

Olivia Munns Bum

When is Ireland closing for business?
Very much open for business in the Capital this morning.

Atoms for Peace

Snow tax anyone?

emaherx

Balanadan wrote: »

When will the government and councils learn? Get the finger out, invest in proper equipment, and clear the facking roads so that we're not faced with annual chaos. The amount of money being lost is ridiculous.

Annual chaos? Really?
Oh you live in a different country?

Personally I'd rather not waste taxpayers money on equipment that will only really be used every 40 years and maybe played with a little every 10.

No we are not as well equipped as countries that live under a blanket of snow and nor should we.

Fighting Tao

I think you misunderstand the word ‘annual’.

Anyway, the roads seem clear in the big schmoke. All is good. The nation is still running.

mulbot

Put Winter tyres on your car.

purpleisafruit

Atoms for Peace wrote: »

Snow tax anyone?

Let the snow pay the snow tax, I pay the Homer tax

Poor Uncle Tom

Balanadan wrote: »

When will the government and councils learn? Get the finger out, invest in proper equipment, and clear the facking roads so that we're not faced with annual chaos. The amount of money being lost is ridiculous.

Outrageous reaction to a shake of dandruff......

salmocab

purpleisafruit wrote: »

Let the snow pay the snow tax, I pay the Homer tax

That’s the home owner tax

VinLieger

Balanadan wrote: »

When will the government and councils learn? Get the finger out, invest in proper equipment, and clear the facking roads so that we're not faced with annual chaos. The amount of money being lost is ridiculous.

1 week of snow in 1 year is not reason enough to spend 10's of millions to purchase the equipment and then all the resulting overheads of storing and maintaining the equipment.



Anyway the the first year we don't use them people like you will be complaining about it being a waste of money.

selwyn froggitt

Bunch of snowflakes!

salmocab

VinLieger wrote: »

1 week of snow in 1 year is not reason enough to spend 10's of millions to purchase the equipment and then all the resulting overheads of storing and maintaining the equipment.



Anyway the the first year we don't use them people like you will be complaining about it being a waste of money.

Imagine the amount of social houses that could have bought

RobbingBandit

Time to start cold calling people with bread nice bit a bread how many ye want

Gimme A Pound

salmocab wrote: »

That’s the home owner tax

Well anyway I'm still outraged.

Balanadan

emaherx wrote: »

Annual chaos? Really?
Oh you live in a different country?

Personally I'd rather not waste taxpayers money on equipment that will only really be used every 40 years and maybe played with a little every 10.

No we are not as well equipped as countries that live under a blanket of snow and nor should we.

Fighting Tao wrote: »

I think you misunderstand the word ‘annual’.

Anyway, the roads seem clear in the big schmoke. All is good. The nation is still running.

Every year since I moved to Ireland there's been shut downs because of snow.

VinLieger wrote: »

1 week of snow in 1 year is not reason enough to spend 10's of millions to purchase the equipment and then all the resulting overheads of storing and maintaining the equipment.



Anyway the the first year we don't use them people like you will be complaining about it being a waste of money.

So you'd rather that our economy suffers, businesses across the country lose 10's (actually 100's) of millions instead of solving a simple problem?

Fighting Tao

Balanadan wrote: »

Every year since I moved to Ireland there's been shut downs because of snow

You haven’t lived here long then. Maybe 2 years max!

CFlat

Balanadan wrote: »

Every year since I moved to Ireland there's been shut downs because of snow.

So it's your fault:pac:


All good here in Kildare so far. No shut down that I can see.

ben.schlomo

Balanadan wrote: »

emaherx wrote: »

Annual chaos? Really?
Oh you live in a different country?

Personally I'd rather not waste taxpayers money on equipment that will only really be used every 40 years and maybe played with a little every 10.

No we are not as well equipped as countries that live under a blanket of snow and nor should we.

Fighting Tao wrote: »

I think you misunderstand the word ‘annual’.

Anyway, the roads seem clear in the big schmoke. All is good. The nation is still running.

Every year since I moved to Ireland there's been shut downs because of snow.

VinLieger wrote: »

1 week of snow in 1 year is not reason enough to spend 10's of millions to purchase the equipment and then all the resulting overheads of storing and maintaining the equipment.



Anyway the the first year we don't use them people like you will be complaining about it being a waste of money.

So you'd rather that our economy suffers, businesses across the country lose 10's (actually 100's) of millions instead of solving a simple problem?

But no businesses are closed, this is Irish boards, not Canadian boards you know?

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

emaherx wrote: »

Annual chaos? Really?
Oh you live in a different country?

Personally I'd rather not waste taxpayers money on equipment that will only really be used every 40 years and maybe played with a little every 10.

No we are not as well equipped as countries that live under a blanket of snow and nor should we.

And I bet those reliably cold countries would quite happily not spend that money if they didn’t have to either.

looksee

Even in parts of America where they get serious snow on a regular basis they still have 'snow days' occasionally when its just too bad for the equipment - we lose maybe one or two days in 3 or 4 years (not always grouped evenly), its not worth buying more than gritters for. Our nice neighbour has just been down our boreen in a tractor and opened it, good man!

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Balanadan wrote: »

Every year since I moved to Ireland there's been shut downs because of snow.

What have these apparently annual “shut downs” due to snow entailed?

In the Ireland I live in, in the last decade, snow has caused major issues in 2009, 2010 and 2018. The decade before that, the problems were even less frequent.

VinLieger

Balanadan wrote: »

Every year since I moved to Ireland there's been shut downs because of snow.

Ive lived in Ireland for 33 years before last year the last time snow caused any issues was in 2009 and 2010 and even that was just a day or two of inconvenience, before that ive no memory of snow causing anything like what you describe

Balanadan wrote: »

So you'd rather that our economy suffers, businesses across the country lose 10's (actually 100's) of millions instead of solving a simple problem?

100's of millions lol get over yourself

Balanadan

VinLieger wrote: »

Ive lived in Ireland for 33 years before last year the last time snow caused any issues was in 2009 and 2010 and even that was just a day or two of inconvenience, before that ive no memory of snow causing anything like what you describe




100's of millions lol get over yourself

Get over yourself https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/storm-emma/economic-cost-of-blizzard-to-rise-above-160m-36661130.html

seamus

Balanadan wrote: »

Every year since I moved to Ireland there's been shut downs because of snow.

The last two times Ireland "shut down" because of the snow was last year and 2010.

Even in 2010 after a week we all just got on with things because the snow wasn't going away.

It's becoming less and less of an issue anyway as more and more workers can work from their own home.

People who work outside or in otherwise manual jobs are often screwed by snow anyway; no amount of snow ploughs is going to make it safe to build a house in the snow.

It's also worth noting that other countries also shut down while it is actually snowing, and the clearing equipment only comes out afterwards.

gozunda

"Balanadan wrote:

Every year since I moved to Ireland there's been shut downs because of snow...

VinLiegerIve wrote:

Ive lived in Ireland for 33 years before last year the last time snow caused ...

Nothing like our newly arrived going native and arguing about the weather

namloc1980

Where's this chaos and shutdown the OP is warbling on about? In Cork all going well although rural roads are a bit hairy alright. No shutdown though. Sounds like the OP was looking for a day off in the scratcher.

CrankyHaus

Councils have actually done a very good job over the last 10 years in improving how they deal with snow.

I remember during the big freeze in 2010 it was chaotic: a total lack of preparation, shortages of grit and equipment, the Minister for Transport refusing to come back from his Winter Sun Holiday as the country's transport system ground to a halt, out my way Council workers were reduced to shovelling sand out the back of a pickup truck.

Since then the amounts of precautionary gritting have gone way up and general Council responses to snow are far improved. Last year was actually a decent response to an unusual weather event. Expecting us to operate as normal through heavy snowfalls that rarely occur is unrealistic and would be deeply wasteful as the required investment would be idle the vast majority of the time.

AllGunsBlazing

You dismiss Irish snow days at your peril, OP

Lest we forget imo...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFEZ5_zlS0w

Mint Sauce

Renegade Mechanic wrote: »

Drivers need to learn to drive too. If I get stuck behind one more 2nd gear crawler, I'll blow the ditch away to get around them :mad:

They want to learn to clear the snow off their cars as well. The amount driving around where the only clear spots, are what their wipers cleared, is ridiculous.

:mad:

salmocab

Mint Sauce wrote: »

They want to learn to clear the snow off their cars as well. The amount driving around where the only clear spots, are what their wipers cleared, is ridiculous.

:mad:

Now that is genuinely something that people need to sort out. Tap the brakes and windscreen get covered

malinheader

Knowing how to drive the right way on bad conditions, and alot of people skimping on cheap tyres is a big part of the problem in my area

Mint Sauce

Balanadan wrote: »

Get over yourself https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/storm-emma/economic-cost-of-blizzard-to-rise-above-160m-36661130.html

This year and 2010 according to the article, is not every year though. The government could spend millions on equipment to keep the streets clear, and they might not be used for another 10 years. Thats not an exactly clever use of money either.

Enjoy your snowday, because I am.

whisky_galore

The floundering around here when there's a dusting (by European standards) of snow. People not having the smarts on how to drive in the stuff, schools closed, laughable.

Mint Sauce

salmocab wrote: »

Now that is genuinely something that people need to sort out. Tap the brakes and windscreen get covered

Thats one thing, although I would also be concerned how well they can see out of the car and around it, due to the snow NOT cleared from the side windows too.

Red Alert

It happens infrequently enough in Ireland that it wouldn't I suspect be economic to equip with large amounts of equipment for clearing snow.

The main complainers are the business community who seem intent on complaining about the <2 days of shutdown we get on annual average, rather than looking at themselves and their own inherent inefficiencies, hostility to remote work for employees could could do so, inflexibility regarding start/end times.

Captain Chaos

Mint Sauce wrote: »

They want to learn to clear the snow off their cars as well. The amount driving around where the only clear spots, are what their wipers cleared, is ridiculous.

:mad:

I'm only back from Iceland, alot of them over there don't bother either. Only clear the windows while leaving about half a foot of snow on the roof and drive.

TCM

It's a beautiful crisp morning. No snow

Omackeral

I wouldn't give a damn if there's 7 feet of snow once we don't have to put up with those bread jokes again. Fcuk me, they got stale quick. Stale, get it. Ha ha ha. Fcuk off!

topper75

We share this 'shutdown' experience with the UK and western France.

Possibly not because we are stupid but because we live in a part of the world that doesn't often get snow.

Why do people try to do comparisons with 'Europe'. You don't see NY'ers comparing themselves with New Mexico.

Renegade Mechanic

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Go for it, drives as fast as possible over the ditch

Kiss my arse! , If you can't do more than 10/15mph in these conditions you have no business on the road. Stay home so that those of us who leave ten minutes earlier don't still wind up arriving late.

Edit: They're probably the same morons driving up my hole when I'm doing 50 or overtaking me in towns..

Graces7

emaherx wrote: »

Annual chaos? Really?
Oh you live in a different country?

Personally I'd rather not waste taxpayers money on equipment that will only really be used every 40 years and maybe played with a little every 10.

No we are not as well equipped as countries that live under a blanket of snow and nor should we.

When I lived up in the Scottish North Isles we had serious snow every winter. The island lorry had a snowplough attachement and when that failed the farmers sorted it .. not a high cost and effective

salmocab

Graces7 wrote: »

When I lived up in the Scottish North Isles we had serious snow every winter. The island lorry had a snowplough attachement and when that failed the farmers sorted it .. not a high cost and effective

Councils have snow plough attachments for trucks and do a decent job of clearing. They can only do mainnroads as they are obviously limited by equipment and personnel. The problem is the snow keeps falling and some people expect to get into their cars and have no snow on any tarmac.

whisky_galore

Omackeral wrote: »

I wouldn't give a damn if there's 7 feet of snow once we don't have to put up with those bread jokes again. Fcuk me, they got stale quick. Stale, get it. Ha ha ha. Fcuk off!

I wouldn't mind if it was decent bread but it was that doughy Brennan's rubbish.

Canyon86

I believe there should be a better arrangement between Employers and Employees on days like today,

For example in certain jobs where possible work from home! I know some jobs dont have this option, but at least it would take a body of cars off the road

I work in I.T myself so i can work from home on days like today,

Mint Sauce

Unfortunetly, crews cant keep every road clear all off the time. A fresh fall, depending on time of day, or night, might only just cover whhat was just cleared. Plus grit/salt, is only effective, if there is traffic, to aid spread. No traffic, and fresh snow fall will just cover it, or wash it away again.