Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I thank the witnesses for coming before the committee. I also thank Mr. Hogan for outlining his work. It gives us a lot of confidence in many of the issues he outlined. There are other issues he did not touch on and I will raise them. I will begin with messaging. When Mr. Hogan spoke about the importance of communication and messaging he used the expression "a single voice". The problem in an emergency is the media goes after it and it becomes the main story of the day. The line can be blurred between politicising an event and the co-ordinators, responders and people dealing with the event. I have noticed this and it needs to be guarded against. What are the media really interested in speaking about? They are in the business of news. Obviously, the news is factual and true but sometimes the media get bored of the same old face. I mean no disrespect to anyone here in saying that. There is a very fine line and it is something that needs to be looked at and kept constantly monitored. An event suddenly becomes about the response of politicians and Ministers, which is not necessarily the right approach in an emergency. I do not necessarily want to draw out Mr. Hogan on this, other than to say it is something I have noticed and I would like to think Mr. Hogan is keeping a close eye on it because we do need a single co-ordinated voice in a response.

My next question is on the National Emergency Co-ordination Group's experience with local authorities, of which we have 31. As a former member of a local authority, I am not sure how well equipped they are to respond to an emergency. Are dry runs done? Are their systems audited? Are they robust enough? I suggest some of them are not but that is a matter for the witnesses, as the professionals. How does the National Emergency Co-ordination Group engage with local authorities and how does it monitor and audit their capacity and ability to respond? Does it go out to see how well equipped their response units are and how they relate to the group?

There are various needs and responses. One area Mr. Hogan did not deal with was major maritime emergencies. The response to somebody living in a port such as Dún Laoghaire may be very different from the response to somebody living in the midlands, County Laois or County Tipperary. We need to look at this. How well equipped is the National Emergency Co-ordination Group? Does it cover major maritime emergencies? We are an island nation and major maritime incidents could occur. We need to know about them. I am not sure how the National Emergency Co-ordination Group interfaces with major environmental challenges and emergencies.

With regard to the homeless initiative, we see when there is a major snow event that the agencies involved, particularly in Dublin, issue an alert asking people to contact them. How does the National Emergency Co-ordination Group interface with these organisations?