Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Such conditions did not materialise. I ask Mr. Hogan to make a general comment on how the system is working. I fully understand that it is very hard to make a call for the whole country. Every county is different.

I would like to pick up on an issue mentioned by Deputy Barry. As an employer, I am probably coming at it from the other point of view. If I insist that my workers come to work even though a red-level warning has been issued, to what extent am I exposed if something happens? Am I liable in relation to that call?

Mixed signals were sent out when the question of footpath liability came up a number of years ago. It was suggested that if someone slipped on a footpath which had not been cleared correctly, the person who attempted to clear it would be liable. I think that has been cleared up now. Perhaps Mr. Hogan can give the committee some clarity in that regard.

I would like to mention some specific issues in my own county. The question of who has the authority to order a road closure is a continual concern. The Sally Gap road in County Wicklow becomes a tourist destination, particularly among those with four-wheel drives, when the snow comes. When this results in people having to pick up the phone to make an emergency call, the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue and the Dublin-Wicklow Mountain Rescue, both of which are voluntary organisations, are sent out to take them off the roads. In some cases, the people who are being rescued are upset and annoyed when they are told that their vehicles are being left behind on the mountain roads. A number of years ago, we tried to put a barrier on roads like the Sally Gap. It seemed that no one was in a position to make the final call about putting up the barrier and stopping vehicles from going up there. The plan fell by the wayside. Now we are back in the same situation with snow tourists, as we call them, going up in cars. What is Mr. Hogan's view on that?

We are beginning to work towards a more co-ordinated approach to the clearing of roads after events like last year's severe snow event. I am thinking especially of local roads that are not kept clear of snow, rather than regional roads. Is there a need for a national policy that each local authority can roll out? Such a policy would allow local authorities to engage with the farming community and other communities that have suitable equipment to clear these roads as soon as possible. When three days have passed, a council could announce that it needs help in clearing roads that it might not be able to clear in the short term. We are working on a countywide policy in County Wicklow. It has been hit and miss, but it is beginning to work. I wonder whether we need something at national level. Local authorities are never going to have enough equipment to clear all the roads. We have to find some other way of ensuring they are cleared. In County Wicklow, we have gone some way down that road by engaging farmers.

However, we could do with national legislation in this area because some farmers feel they will be exposed if they damage the road.

Senator Boyhan referred to political interference or political love bombing, as I sometimes describe it. Perhaps we would all appear on television wearing a hard hat and a high-visibility jacket if we could do so. Sometimes this takes away from the key message, however. While I fully accept that Ministers are entitled to appear in the media but sometimes we see them a little too often and they are love bombing the whole process. I await Mr. Hogan's response on that.