A number of marts in the south of the country have moved to cancel sales on Monday as a result of the cold weather.

Tullamore Mart in Offaly has cancelled its weanling sale as a result of the treacherous road conditions.

The mart said it has cancelled the sale in the interest of safety for its staff and customers travelling in the bad conditions.

Kilmallock Mart in Limerick has also cancelled its sale which was due to be held on Monday due to the current weather conditions.

Kenmare Mart, which had been due to hold a sheep sale on Monday, has also cancelled its sale.

Cork Marts has cancelled its cattle sales in Bandon and Dungarvan, as well as the sheep sale that had been due to take place in Corrin.

"Due to the severe weather conditions and in the interest of safety of our staff and customers, we have cancelled our sales at Bandon, Corrin and Dungarvan tomorrow Monday 6 January.

"A decision on Tuesday's sales will be made tomorrow," the mart group said.

Kilkenny Mart's sheep sale has also been cancelled.

Many marts which normally take place on a Monday during the year will not return until 13 January, given the time of year.

CalfCare event

Teagasc and Animal Health Ireland (AHI) have cancelled a planned CalfCare event that was due to take place in Waterford on Monday as a result of the current freezing weather conditions.

“Unfortunately, due to the current weather conditions and in the interest of health and safety, we have decided to cancel tomorrow’s CalfCare event in Ballymacarbry,” AHI said.

“Our events scheduled for Tuesday are still going ahead in Clonakilty and Castlefinn, Co Donegal.”

The CalfCare events will run nationwide over the coming weeks.

There has been heavy snowfall in parts Munster and Leinster over the last 24 hours, with Cork County Council reporting up to 30cm of snow in Rockchapel.

The ESB has confirmed that as of 5.15pm approximately 59,000 homes, farms and businesses are without power, predominantly in counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois and Wicklow.

"With Met Éireann status orange and yellow warnings remaining in place until this evening and the dynamic nature of the event, further power outages can be expected.

"ESB Networks crews and partner contractors have been deployed since early morning to assess the damage, make the network safe and restoring electricity supply in challenging conditions. All ESB Networks teams are mobilised and are continuing to restore power where it is safe to do so," it said.

Weather warnings

A status orange snow/ice warning which was due to expire at 5pm on Sunday has been extended by Met Éireann until 8pm.

Munster and counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly and Wicklow are all subject to the warning.

Met Éireann has forecast further falls of sleet and snow, leading to significant accumulations in these areas.

Other parts of the country remain under a status yellow snow/ice warning until 5pm on Sunday.

Low temperatures

A separate status yellow low temperature/ice warning is in place nationwide until Thursday.

There will be very cold nights, with widespread frost and ice over the coming week, with Met Éireann warning that temperatures will struggle to get above freezing during the day.

It has warned of potentially hazardous travelling conditions and icy patches.