Editorial: We need a Big Freeze masterplan

WE have survived a full week of atrocious weather conditions, and although the weekend is a respite for many workers, it must be put to good use.

The powers-that-be must use this pause to come up with strategies to curb the crippling costs of the snow and ice.

We simply cannot afford to stop everything because of the weather. The cost to the economy of people not being able to get out and about is too high. It's already in the tens of millions of euros and rising.

This is the second time in less than a year that the country has virtually ground to a halt because of plunging temperatures.

Safety must be a priority, but we have to find a way around weather difficulties that gets people back into the workplace, children back to school, and industry working at normal capacity.