I am doing what I can as chairman of the taskforce to ensure that we have the maximum co-ordination and co-operation. I do not want to comment on difficulties that arose during the lifetime of the previous Government. The taskforce would, if there was a major emergency derived from weather or another difficulty, meet and ensure the necessary co-operation took place. The lead Minister on environmental issues is the Minister, Deputy Hogan, not me. The lead Department would be involved in making decisions and the taskforce, in a sense, is a backup to it. It would be my job as chairman of the taskforce to ensure that matters are duly co-ordinated and other assistance required from other Departments is provided. In this context, there are certain emergencies, for example, in which the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is the lead Department.
This means that each Department is responsible for planning for and responding to those emergencies which will fall within its remit. The emergency planning approach in Ireland to date has developed on the basis of what is known as the lead Department principle. I do not believe it would be appropriate for the Department of Defence to take over matters because some of the skill sets in these areas are within that Department while others reside within other Departments. They require different Departments and local authorities to approach matters in a particular way. They are cross-departmental recommendations in the sense that they do not specifically apply to the Defence Forces. Moreover, has the lack of co-ordination last December between local authorities, the HSE and the Defence Forces been resolved? Are clear protocols in place to ensure the Army is not obliged to wait almost for a gold-plated invitation before it can provide the civil authorities with the assistance they so urgently need?Ī number of recommendations were made to the task force arising from the weather events that took place last year and early this year and these are being taken on board. Has consideration being given to allowing the Defence Forces to lead that agency no matter what the crisis, whether it be flooding or some other severe weather issue? The Defence Forces have the skill set to carry out the requisite co-ordination. It took the outgoing Government a considerable length of time to initiate emergency planning and to decide who would be responsible for it. It is clear there was a lack of leadership with regard to the severe weather experienced last Christmas.
#Emergent task planner 2011 update
The previous meeting pertained to an update concerning the severe weather experienced last Christmas. The most recent meeting pertained to flood risk and advanced warning, and a presentation was given by the Office of Public Works. Wearing my hat as both Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence, is a useful mechanism for cross-departmental briefings on issues that may be a matter of concern. In addition, each meeting of the task force has a standing agenda item, which is referred to as an assessment of the current security threat and which is provided by An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. It is a mechanism to ensure such issues are addressed on a cross-departmental basis and there is a possibility for dialogue and consideration of potential gaps that must be addressed. At each meeting I have chaired, there normally has been one or more presentations on issues that could give rise to concerns or give rise to the need for an emergency response. There were also presentations from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and from the office of emergency planning. At the last meeting, the task force received a comprehensive and valuable presentation from the Office of Public Works on flood forecasting and warning systems. While the details of matters discussed at meetings of the task force are confidential, I can confirm it examines current risks and supports co-ordination arrangements for emergency planning across the Government. Representation at the task force can be at ministerial level or more usually at senior official level.
The role of the task force is to support co-ordination of emergency planning across Departments and agencies, to provide a forum for keeping emergency planning high on the agenda of all Departments and to examine any cross-cutting issues. The task force was established following the 11 September attacks in 2001 and 70 meetings have been held to date. The next meeting is scheduled for 29 September 2011, which is next week. The Government task force on emergency planning, which I chair, meets regularly, most recently on 30 June 2011.
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