Mr. Seán Hogan:

I do not want to comment on that now.

With regard to funding in general, the Deputy raised a question about the delays. We must again put our hand up on that. Sometimes there is no dedicated fund on which we draw on so we must look around the Department to try to find money. This can be significant. One year, the maximum amount we had to find was €17 million, which is a significant sum. We have had to come back before this committee to seek additional funding at the end of the year so sometimes we hold things until the end of the year to see how things pan out. We would put our hands up regarding some of the delays but we have succeeded in getting that. A series of debates have taken place about how one funds extraordinary events like this. Nobody likes to have a budget lying around unspent coming to the end of the year. If a budget is available, people think, "Can we not use that for something else?" There have many debates about that. We have succeeded in establishing a norm and being supported. I am referring to a very low level involving us as the Department supporting the the local authorities. Our system has a little rhythm about it. It may not be perfect but we are fairly sure we will get there. We will get the money to them. There may be some delays, which is less than ideal in that if something happens at the beginning of the year, local authorities will have spent their money and there may be budgeting and balancing issues there but that is where we go.

Regarding the questions about best practice, I emphasise that everything we do and have done is based on a systemic approach to risk management. That is something that is international and derived from the space programme. We have taken that risk management approach for both fire services and emergency management so everything we do is based on that. There has been a master's programme in emergency management in DCU for the past decade, which has produced graduates who are now dispersed across the system so when we talk about systemic risk management, we have a significant understanding of it. That is a significant benefit. Part of the success involves trying to look ahead and anticipate. It is not just about looking at what happened the last time but trying to look ahead. Putting the systems in place and establishing the NECG were all significant steps that involved looking ahead based on international good practice.

Regarding text alerts, technology changes, as a person from a certain generation, this is new. Bodies like ESB Networks and Met Éireann report that the difference in how people access their information compared to five years ago is huge when it comes to the use of social media. I sit in awe looking at bodies like Met Éireann and ESB Networks regarding how they manage social media but that is how people communicate. Moving on to text alerts in certain areas, I know work is ongoing. All emergency services use the terrestrial trunked radio, TETRA, system so steps are being taken all the time. I know our colleagues in the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment are certainly progressing work in that area.