Kieran McCarthy MLA said: “This is extremely disappointing news. Yes while this tends to happen every year, this year we have not yet experienced severe weather conditions to warrant such actions.
“Everyone must work together going forward to rectify this situation now before disaster really does strike. It is further shocking that it is the elderly and people who have made preparations ahead of planned operations that again are suffering
“The Chief Medical Officer is scheduled to address the committee later this month and there will be significant questions to answer over how and why we have yet again ended up in this situation.”