Since last Sunday, we have been warned about a very severe weather event which will reach its peak over the coming days. I commend the front-line services on their work to date. In particular, I commend Seán Hogan and his team on the national co-ordination efforts. I also pay tribute to Met Éireann for the precision of its work. I thank the media for broadcasting the guidance to people throughout the country. I would like to refer to some aspects of this weather event. At moments like this, we have to be particularly conscious of older people and families in poverty. Yesterday, the Taoiseach was dismissive of calls to double the free fuel allowance for this week. He said he could not "offer a blank cheque". I am glad the Government has undertaken a U-turn on this issue. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection has announced that the allowance will be doubled. It is worrying that the issue was not anticipated earlier in the week. We know that on occasions like this, cold weather and deep freezes can affect the elderly most of all.

I ask the Government to consider advancing additional financial supports to non-governmental organisations that are dealing with the homeless and with families in poverty. In a week the latest figures from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government show that more than 9,000 people, including 3,267 children, are homeless, which is a record number, it is incumbent on the Government to support organisations like the Peter McVerry Trust, the Simon Community and Focus Ireland that are working on the streets to bring the homeless in. Heroic efforts are being made. I have just listened to Pat Doyle of the Peter McVerry Trust saying that 81 homeless people were taken into a sports hall on the south side of Dublin yesterday to give them shelter on a very cold evening. Additional supports should be given to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and other organisations to keep an eye out for families who are in particular poverty and need for various reasons and will require support.

I am surprised that decisions regarding school closures are being left to boards of management at local level. I think there was similar indecision in relation to schools in advance of Storm Ophelia. I mean it constructively when I say I think schools should close automatically when red alert warnings are issued. It was confirmed this morning that school transport will not be operational in red alert areas. That should mean de facto that schools should close. If that happened, we would reduce the risk of accidents and traffic congestion. Above all, it would represent an optimal approach to the safety of schoolchildren. I ask the Taoiseach to consider doing that now. With regard to public transport, will he give us strong reassurances that local councils have the equipment and the wherewithal to keep the main arteries open and to keep cities going and operational? Although this is a matter for another day, it is worth reflecting that the entire country is coming to a halt, despite all the warnings, after one evening's snow so far. We need to learn from other countries that experience far worse events than this.

The national emergency co-ordination group is meeting as we speak. I cannot be there because I am here. The Government is represented at the meeting by the Minister-----

There is a better chance it will be okay, so.

Please.

I was interrupted within 20 seconds that time. The interruptions are starting even quicker as the days go on. The Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, and the Minister of State, Deputy English, are representing the Government at the meeting of the national emergency co-ordination group which is taking place at present. Further guidance on all of these matters will be given at the press conference which will follow that meeting. Clear advice will be given on school closures.

That did not happen today.

School transport has been suspended today for safety reasons in the areas covered by the red alert. School transport is not the main way people get to school in many parts of the country, where pupils are more likely to get to school by car or by walking. I have asked the national emergency co-ordination group to provide a clear instruction on what schools should do tomorrow and on Friday and it will do so at the press conference after its meeting.

I would like to respond to Deputy Martin's earlier comments on fuel allowance. Two distinct suggestions were made yesterday. First, it was suggested that we should instruct older people and others to run their heating 24 hours a day and that the Government should pick up the bill no matter what.

No, that was not suggested.

I said that I would not offer a blank cheque in such circumstances and I did not do so. Second, some of the Members opposite were among those who made the constructive suggestion that we should pay a double week of the fuel allowance. I did not dismiss that. The record of the Dáil will show that I said I would endeavour to speak about the matter to the Ministers for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and Public Expenditure and Reform. This was the appropriate thing to do and we spoke about it across yesterday.

We confirmed with the Department that it was possible to pay a double week and we confirmed this morning that a double week is being paid for this week. In many cases, the payment will not be made until next week but a double week of €45 is being paid. This should give about 300,000 households some assurance that they can keep the heating going during this period.

In addition, urgent needs payments may be available on a non-means tested basis. Also, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, is in touch with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, with a view to giving it additional supports to assist families who are in fuel poverty. As Deputy Micheál Martin correctly stated, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul often knows the families who are vulnerable or in fuel poverty and works with them already. Additional resources will be available for the society in that regard.

I acknowledge the Trojan and extraordinary efforts our homeless services made during the night, including people working for the Department, Dublin City Council, non-governmental organisations, NGOs, and charities. Food, shelter and heat are available for everyone who needs it. Teams were on the streets last night encouraging people to come in off the streets and I am told only about a dozen people did not do so and everyone else came in and was given food, heat and shelter. The Government is working with and funding NGOs, including Depaul and the Peter McVerry Trust to provide these services.

Deputy Micheál Martin has one minute to ask a supplementary question.

I make my remarks on schools constructively and on the basis that the Fianna Fáil Party spokesperson, Deputy Thomas Byrne, spoke to the Minister for Education and Skills before Storm Ophelia urging that schools be closed in red alert areas. School boards of management cannot be summoned in the middle of the night or at 6 a.m., as a principal said today. The Government is leaving the decision on whether to close schools up to individual principals. In my view, this is not the optimal way to protect schoolchildren and prevent traffic congestion. We all know how long it took to get to work in Dublin this morning. There are schools at which only 100 pupils turning up and many have less than full numbers. This is a serious issue. When a code red alert warning is issued surely it should automatically dictate the closure of schools. That would be the uniformly correct thing to do.

The Deputy's time has concluded.

I will not comment on the Taoiseach's obsession with what he said about all of that yesterday.

The Deputy should not comment on anything because his minute is up.

I would like the Government to examine the issue of schools, even for the future. Second, on public transport and roads-----

No, the Deputy's time is up.

-----will the Taoiseach indicate whether local authorities will be properly resourced in respect of those issues? Will they have the equipment to keep the main arteries open?

The way the warning system works is that warnings are issued by Met Éireann. Status yellow means people should be aware, status orange means they should be prepared and status red means they should act. It is not as simple as just saying red automatically means school closure because one could have a red alert arising from a chemical spill at an industrial facility, which would have no impact on schools.

We are speaking about weather events.

The decision on whether schools close is either made by boards of management on an individual basis or on the advice and instruction of the national emergency co-ordination group. The group is meeting now and the Department of Education and Skills is represented at that meeting. It will issue clear guidance to schools with regard to tomorrow and Friday at its press conference after the meeting. The appropriate way to deal with the issue is for the national emergency co-ordination group, which represents all the relevant Departments and agencies, to discuss the matter, make a decision and announce its decision. It is not something that I should announce unilaterally.