Freeze Thaws, But More Wintry Woe On Way

Although temperatures dropped to below -4C last night across parts of Northern Ireland, the big freeze - which continued to cause disruption on roads during morning rush hour - is thawing somewhat this afternoon.

The rest of Friday and Saturday are set for winter sunshine and dry conditions, while Sunday and Monday will bring more wintry showers, including snow.

Today though, early morning driving remained hazardous on the roads - despite them being gritted - with western counties, such as Fermanagh particularly affected.

At 8am this morning, heavy snow showers were also hitting roads across Belfast with traffic slowing to a crawl on both the M1 and M2 approaches.

Yet again, schools were forced to close for health and safety reasons as overnight temperatures dropped and yesterday's fallen snow froze hard.

Despite the chill, there's been hot debate over the rights and wrongs of school closures, with Stormont Environment Minister Sammy Wilson hitting out at the amount of schools closed during the snow, slamming "health and safety nuts" for "mollycoddling" people.

He was incensed that over 30 schools were shut, with most citing health and safety concerns, as well as not enough staff making it in to look after children or simply hazardous travelling conditions.

The DUP MLA, who is also a former teacher, said many people, including some in his former profession, used the weather as an excuse to take a day off.

Harking back to his teaching years he insisted that people used to be made of sterner stuff and would laugh off yesterday's conditions.

"I can remember in 1963 when there was a heavy snowfall and it lay for weeks, walking to school and the snow was piled above your head but we still got there," said Mr Wilson.

He said the snowfalls should not have prevented people from getting to work nor children from getting to school.

"It's no more dangerous to go out in the snow than it is to go out in very wet weather, windy weather or in conditions of poor visibility like mist or fog."

The DoE minister also slammed what he termed the "self-justifying health and safety industry" for seeking to "mollycoddle people".

However, a spokesman from the Department of Education said: "The decision to close a school due to bad weather or exceptional circumstances is entirely a matter for the schools themselves.

"Schools would apply for retrospective permission to close due to bad weather.

"The department would advise parents who are unsure if their children's schools are open to contact the school directly or check local media reports."

See: Dublin Airport Cancels Freezing Flights

(BMcC/JM)