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Updated at 4.25pm
[image alt="BRITAIN-ECONOMY-LIDL" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2018/02/britain-economy-lidl-296x197.jpg" width="296" height="197" title="" class="aligncenter" /end]
A NUMBER OF businesses have closed completely or are adjusting their opening hours today and tomorrow as the bad weather worsens.
People across the nation have been advised to remain indoors from 4pm today as blizzard-like conditions are set to hit the country.
The warning will remain in place until 3pm tomorrow. Now that advice has come into effect. Most retail outlets have pulled down their shutters.
Cork and Dublin Airports have shut while Ireland West Airport in Knock will close tomorrow.
Supermarkets
As a result of the bad weather, Lidl has decided to close all its stores from 3pm today until tomorrow afternoon.
[image alt="ikea" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2018/02/ikea-16-296x155.jpg" width="296" height="155" title="" class="aligncenter" /end]
Ikea‘s store in Ballymun and its collection Point in Carrickmines, both in Dublin, will remain closed until further notice. The store apologised for any inconvenience caused to customers.
Arnotts Department Store on Henry Street in Dublin city centre will also be closed today, the company said in a statement, adding: “The safety of our team members and customers is our priority at this time.”
All Dublin City Council public offices closed at 3pm yesterday – this includes all parks, leisure centres, libraries and bring centres. The council has apologised for any inconvenience caused. It is unclear when the facilities will reopen.
Tesco Ireland said it would have limited opening hours over the coming days due to the extreme weather conditions. They are:
Christine Heffernan, Corporate Affairs Director of Tesco Ireland, said: “We are closing all stores today at 2pm in line with the guidance from the government to ensure that all of our colleagues have time to get home safely.”
All Tesco store carparks are due to be gritted this evening.
Dunnes Stores said all stores will be closed today. It said most stores will not reopen until 1pm tomorrow, however, this is “subject to weather improvement”.
The following Dunnes Stores outlets in Dublin will not open tomorrow:
Peter Mark has said that all salons across the country will be closed today.
An update on whether the salons will open tomorrow will be provided later.
“In the interest of the safety of our clients and our teams, all Peter Marks salons will be closed today due to adverse weather conditions,” a statement from the company said.
Postal services and banks
An Post services have also been affected by the bad weather. Letter and parcel services within all counties affected by the status red warning are suspended until further notice.
Where weather conditions and public transport allow, post offices will open this morning, An Post has said.
All post offices will close at 1pm and will remain closed tomorrow until further notice.
An Post said: “Advice regarding post office services will be updated in due course with due regard for staff safety and the advice provided by the National Emergency Coordination Group.”
Ulster Bank has said this evening that to ensure the safety of all its staff and customers, all of its branches and mobile branch services across the country will be closed today and tomorrow.
Other services such as Telephony, online banking and our app are available as normal.
Bank of Ireland branches and contact centres will not open today or tomorrow. Online banking services are operating as normal.
Currys PC World and Carphone Warehouse stores across the country will close from 2pm today, with most outlets already closed.
Brown Thomas in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway and BT2 in Dundrum and Blanchardstown are all closed today.
With reporting by Hayley Halpin
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“Give me unlimited power” but you don’t get to know what power I get until I have it
@Adam Rekio: They can hide from their incompetence behind these laws. Restrict peoples freedoms and make it seem like they’re doing a good job, but in reality they’re doing nothing to improve things in any sector that its needed for people to be able to “live with covid”. They’ve also now got people in to such a fearful state that the majority are willing to freely give up those freedoms and not ask questions. It has taken long enough for the opposition to start to ask these types of questions, I wonder will they be labelled anti-vaxxers now?!
@bob hope: whist or you’ll have the ‘what freedoms have we given up’ brigade then be laballed an anti vaxer for voicing an opinion that offends them as they do not want to acknowledge what is happening in front of their very eyes.
@Hear me now: Baa baa black sheep have you any wool!
It’s all about keeping control folks
@Maurice O Neill: can you expand?
@Paul Clancy: Join the dots yourself Einstein
@James Daly: all we ever hear is “it’s about control” no one has ever said exactly how. Simple one liners are the bread and butter of conspiracy theorist.
@Paul Clancy: I’m not helping you Paul. You’ll have to join the dots by yourself.
The emergency powers should have been phased out months ago. The vaccine uptake has been great. It’s ridiculous that these powers need to be extended again and again. Time to just live with Covid for everyone, vaccinated and non vaccinated. Its been two years.
Donnelly is so incompetent giving him free reign does seem a bit much….
Does no one else see how odd this is ? This makes no sense at all.
@Bobby Jones: Odd that it’s taken them so long to start asking questions about the violation of people’s civil liberties?
It almost like some crazy tin foil hat conspiracy theory that was only recently being ridiculed, just came to life…
@David Van-Standen: Next they will have to stop general elections as it could spread covid
@Adam Rekio: there’s a reason there hasn’t been election in quite some time.
@neuromancer: since last year,you mean?
@Adam Rekio: not possible to stop them.
I think we’re going down the wrong road with this. This is dangerous. There are precedents being set here. Under no circumstances should any elected official have powers that are not open to scrutiny. It only takes one headbanger to abuse these powers and you’re living in tyranny where discrimination and coercion are the norm. Minorities will be isolated and redeculed. Bodily integrity will become meaningless.Your freedom of choice will be out the window. Who wants to live in a world like that.
@James Daly: have an old read of the constitution. You’re some man for scare mongering.
@Paul Clancy: sure the constitution gives you your fundimental rights but, and big but.. Fundamental rights are not absolute – they can be limited or restricted by the Oireachtas for certain reasons, for example, for the common good or public order. Then all bets are off. The safeguards against headbangers like Donnelly abusing his position in such instances are debate and scrutiny. Exactly what he doesn’t want to happen. Wonder why?
Donnelly is like a dog with two knobs at this stage…. Too much control for one TD to hold and that’s the problem with this whole Covid crapola show is for all parties to work together to find solutions not just the ones that hold the house….
How has it taken two years for opposing TD’s to start asking the right questions. The mind boggles how we have people out there that are “fully vaccinated “and are supporting these restrictions. These are the types of klowns that start their comments with “ I’ve had my two jabs and I’m getting my booster on Wednesday “
Smacking of arrogance as this undoubtedly does and desirable as it would be to have Dáil scrutiny would it make any difference to the outcome? Most T.D.’s are terrified of speaking out in any meaningful way against these emergency powers in case they’re labelled ‘anti-science’ or of playing politics with people’s health and lives. It’s a very easy stick to beat them with. It would definitely be interesting though to see how it would go…
@William Tallon: Any decision any government makes should be open to scrutiny, and any resistance to that scrutiny should set more alarm bells ringing than the decisions themselves. TDs are only people who are in the position they’re in because of people who voted them in to the position. Some people go on like they’re gods who must be obeyed at all costs!
@bob hope: Not all Government decisions are open to scrutiny though. Article 28.4 of the Constitution states “The confidentiality of discussions at meetings of the Government shall be respected in all circumstances save only where the High Court determines that disclosure should be made in respect of a particular matter…” I think this is a principle most democratic governments subscribe to and probably for good reason in many cases. That doesn’t mean by the way I don’t favour more transparency…
@William Tallon: That states Government discussions, and not decisions. Regardless this would be superceded by our own constitutional rights and civil liberties, hence the reason why things like this need to be backed by a majority in a vote by TDs and other levels, and hence the argument at hand. They also need to be signed off by the President, who only recently raised a concern about some of the things being pushed through by this government without the time for proper scrutiny. Without a doubt trying to take advantage of the situation as it is and the penny ot seems is only starting to drop in certain quarters!
@bob hope: Discussions are a prerequisite for decisions so if you want to scrutinise Government decisions you’ll need to know how they were arrived at which would mean having access to those Cabinet level discussions and that is precluded by the Constitution. So far as I can tell there is no other provision in the Constitution that grants the individual the right to supersede this provision. I’d be interested to know if you’re aware of such a provision though.
@William Tallon: It’s one of the main principles of democracy, so will always supercede any decisions that go against that principle. I wouldn’t have thought that would need an explanation?
“Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said to have debate and scrutiny on the emergency legislation would more or less take 33 weeks, six hours a day, three days a week.” – I don’t see how it would take that long. I liked Donnelly when he was an SD, I was skeptical when he jumped ship to FF but decided I would give him a chance, he’s had his chance now and has proved to be useless and a hypocrite
Where was Alan Kelly from Labour in this debate? No word from him about democracy and Civil Rights?
If there is hope it lies in the proles.
Paradoxical that
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