Minister for the Environment John Gormley has moved to assure the public that grit supplies to cope with the adverse weather conditions will be secured.
Mr Gormley's department has been tasked with co-ordinating a national response to the problems caused by the weather.
Following a meeting today of the Government's inter-departmental emergency response group, he said local authorities had used an unprecedented 50,000 tonnes of salt to treat icy roads over the last three weeks, the amount normally used in a year.
He said the National Roads Authority (NRA) had been tasked by the Government to buy and distribute salt supplies to local authorities.
But Mr Gormley ruled out a major mobilisation of the Defence Forces to deal with the disruption, saying he had been assured by local authorities that such a move was not necessary at this stage.
Opposition parties have been calling on the Government to draft in the Army to assist local authorities de-ice the roads.
Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea has advised local authorities that the Defence Forces were on standby to assist with dealing with the severe weather conditions if required.
"With more than 3,000 drivers and up to 800 4x4 vehicles including Air and MOWAG support, the Defence Forces are equipped to assist should the local authorities request our assistance," Mr O'Dea said.
Mr Gormley said Army personnel would be available for certain tasks such as trying to reach people in remote locations.
But Labour leader Eamon Gilmore today criticised the Government’s response to the weather crisis.
“Parts of the country, particularly in the west and north west have been experiencing Arctic conditions since before Christmas, with families in some areas unable to leave their homes, but their plight has been largely ignored by the government,” Mr Gilmore said.
He said the Defence Forces should be mobilised to assist in the clearing of paths in urban areas, and called for funding to be made available to local authorities to take on temporary staff to assist with the operation.