Mr. Eoin Moran:

There is much in those excellent questions and I thank the Deputy for them. The warning system we apply is part of a co-ordinated European effort. It is co-ordinated by EUMETNET through the MeteoAlarm system. It is in line with the World Meteorological Organization guidelines and it is very much in line with the European norm. The forecasting system underpinning that in terms of the numerical weather prediction modelling systems is based on the very best forecasting system worldwide. It is the ECMWF forecasting system. Our short-range forecasting system is subject to ongoing scientific development and is again the very best forecasting system on a very high resolution nationally. We consider it our mission to ensure the systems are like that.

Red warnings are very serious and attention must be paid to them. It is the same with orange and yellow warnings. It is quite a serious matter, especially when we are dealing with high-impact weather events during extreme weather. Our focus is on avoiding confusion and the mixing of messages. We focus on this especially in the 48 hours leading into a severe weather event. That authoritative source is important.

There were specific questions on any confusion that might arise with weather warnings. Such warnings are advice. They herald the possibility of a particular high-impact weather event in the meteorological sense. We are of course at the interface between high-impact weather and societal response. International best practice has identified weather warnings as the best mechanism to reach into the information universe in which we all tend to exist and grab attention or raise the awareness of citizens and decision makers so they can take appropriate action.