Firemen have started to pump water from the Waterways Estate in Sallins, Co Kildare, where 104 occupants and their families have been forced out of their homes by flooding since yesterday morning.
The fire crews are hoping to pump most of the water out of the estate so that drains can be cleared out tomorrow.
This is to prevent the flooding getting worse as heavy rain is expected late on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The water level on the River Liffey has peaked and floods are abating slowly, according to the ESB.
The river burst its banks at a number of locations yesterday. The worst affected area was the Strawberry Beds, which is still impassable.
The ESB operates three dams on the River Liffey - at the Poulaphouca Reservoir, at Golden Fall and in Leixlip.
Water levels remain high at Poulaphouca and it has had to discharge water gradually from the Reservoir throughout the day. The ESB says the discharge is making no significant impact on downstream flooding.
Flood waters still are causing problems in the east, midlands and west.
The situation was compounded by overnight frost that has resulted in treacherous driving conditions in many parts of the country.
Roads in Kildare, Carlow, Kilkenny, Meath, Wicklow, Roscommon, Westmeath and Dublin were the worst affected by black ice.
Flooding along the Shannon River between Ballinasloe and Portumna in Co Galway is reported to be easing slightly tonight.
However, there is fresh concern about rising flood waters near the village of Ardrahan in the south of the county.
Levels at Killamoran have risen steadily during the day. One family was forced to evacuate their house this afternoon. Another four say they may also have to move out tomorrow if the situation continues to worsen.
The IFA Assistant County Secretary, Pat Murphy, says the situation in an area between Ardrahan and Kinvara is becoming more serious and efforts to control water levels do not appear to be succeeding.
Up to 3,000 farms are under water and more than 200 families have not been able to return to their homes.
A big clean up operation has begun in housing estates in Ballinasloe, which had to be evacuated last week.
Residents say the final bill for flood damage in the town could exceed €10m.
Roads in many parts of Co Galway have become extremely dangerous with temperatures now at -2 degrees Celsius.
Gardaí say driving conditions are particularly difficult in the south and east of the county. Council workers have been gritting roads for several hours.
Water levels in Lough Derg have fallen by a further 6cm in the past 24 hours.
The ESB says the discharge rate from Parteen Weir has reduced overnight by 7% due to the falling water levels.
Limerick County Council says water levels along the lower River Shannon have receded by up to 10cm since Saturday.
However it is advising caution and says floodwater near properties must be treated as being potentially contaminated by sewage.
Hogan fearful about coming days
The Chairman of the Emergency Response Co-ordination Committee has said extreme high tides forecast for the next three to four day days are of immediate concern to him in relation to the flooding situation.
Sean Hogan said if the spring tides, which will be rising incrementally each day, are aligned with severe gale force winds or changing wind direction then the Shannon Estuary may be affected.
He said this could cause the water to be driven up the estuary towards Limerick City.
Mr Hogan said these tides were not exceptional in themselves and they are not expecting tidal flooding in the Limerick area.
But, he said, they could affect the discharge from the Shannon system or from the River Fergus from Fermanagh.
Mr Hogan said flooding has abated significantly in the Kildare area. He said the towns worst affected are Celbridge, Sallins, Leixlip and Johnstown.
Between Saturday night and Sunday morning, he said 25-35mm of rain fell in some areas in Wicklow, Kildare, Dublin and Meath.
Mr Hogan added that at one stage yesterday afternoon, Kildare County Council received 600 calls an hour in relation to the flooding situation.
In total, the council received 4,000 calls during Saturday and Sunday.
The Clare Crisis Management Centre has said that it received in excess of 900 phone calls to its 24-hour emergency helpline between Thursday, 19 November and to Friday, 27 November.
New planning guidelines published
The Government has published statutory planning guidelines aimed at ensuring a more rigorous approach to the avoidance of flood risk and to fully incorporate flood risk assessment and management into the planning system.
The guidelines were prepared in response to the recommendations of the National Flood Policy Review Group.
They provide guidance on the consideration of flood risk, both in preparing future regional plans, development plans and local area plans, and in determining applications for planning permission.
They also address environmental considerations, including the need to manage the potential impacts of climate change.
Publishing the guidelines, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley, said he was pleased to note that they have been widely welcomed by regional and planning authorities and by professional bodies and the general public during the consultation process.
