Mr. Seán Hogan:

The Deputy stated he had seen a professional approach taken after each event in the past ten years. I concur with his view on that. We take something from the experience after each event. If we look back to the first cold weather events, of which there were two in 2010, we have come a long way. Back then, we were deciding on the day what roads were a priority. Now, a list of priority roads is published in each local authority. We also have 200,000 tonnes of salt in storage, which I regret to say we did not have in 2010. Things have certainly moved along. We learn something new from each event because all of them have different dimensions. There is still a degree of judgment involved in all situations and that is part of the difficulty. Local services are, by definition, almost overwhelmed in emergencies and prioritisation and everything that goes with it are necessary. Those are important factors to bear in mind in the management of events. Sometimes we expect our lives to go on but nature can have a huge impact on society, including in ways that we may no longer be used to. People in rural communities look outside every day to check the weather. There is a level of uncertainty associated with severe weather events. We rely on Met Éireann's forecasts and Met Éireann relies on international systems to find out about global weather conditions. We have seen storms crossing the Atlantic suddenly track a little to the right or left, which can have a major impact. The Deputy referred to snowfall in Wicklow last night. Snow is notoriously difficult to forecast and be precise about. They are the kinds of difficulties we face.

The Deputy asked about progress with fire services in the local authorities and stated that each local authority should use a benchmark. This has been done. The purpose of the external validation group was to ensure that each fire service had benchmarked itself against national standards and norms. The group's report was published in 2016. We did not publish it in league table format. The report addressed particular themes. The Deputy's reference to the fire service in Wicklow brings to mind the tragic loss of fire fighters in the county in 2007. A firefighter and a garda were also killed responding to a road traffic accident in Foynes in the same year. These incidents are on all our minds and a great deal of work was subsequently done on health and safety in the fire service. The external validation process checked that all the statutory requirements in the area of health and safety had been met by all 27 services. I am pleased to note that one of our fire services was the national winner of the National Irish Safety Organisation, NISO, safety award, based on the system that we put in place and developed. That report is public and the work done in the fire service on this is on the record.

The Deputy referred to carrying out reviews after each event and mentioned Met Éireann. Met Éireann has also made significant changes in the past ten years. The introduction of the colour-coded advisory alert warning system has brought home the importance of weather events. We probably have a much greater consciousness about weather than we did a decade ago. Events might have come and gone and we were not so sure about them, unlike now. In terms of public engagement, we believe the Met Éireann system is much advanced. We work closely with Met Éireann, which constantly reviews its system, the approach it takes and the warnings it issues. A question was asked about confusion caused by multiple warnings being issued in the case of a storm, for example, a rainfall warning and a wind warning and a yellow alert in one place and an orange alert in another. It is all about communicating with the public. I believe the new warning system has been a significant step forward. Met Éireann is probably working to refine the messages and judgments around the system. However, it should be borne in mind that the forecasting of snow is particularly problematic, difficult and hard to get right. Events occur and we consider our approach afterwards. If an event is in red warning territory, our approach is straightforward, as it is when it is in yellow warning territory. However, if it is in orange territory and approaching red, it could go either way. There is an element of judgment involved in all this. We try to draw on all our experiences. Do we get them right all the time? No, we do not. We miss certain things and probably over-call in other areas, which creates its own problems.

Deputy Casey referred to his concerns about liability and so on as an employer. Far be it from me to discuss or give the committee legal advice on liability issues. Working with colleagues in the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, we saw that a great effort was made to provide advice to employers' organisations. Ultimately, employers must make a judgment as to what they need to do and how essential certain things are. The last thing anyone will want is for an employee not to make it home safely to his or her family. That is a universal position. I could not give the Deputy the kind of legal advice he seeks.

The issue of footpath liability goes back to 2010. I accept there was some initial confusion in this regard. However, the Attorney General at the time gave us a form of wording which I should be able to recite but I am afraid I cannot do so. In essence, it stated that not only could people clear the footpath outside their home but they should do so. Moreover, there is no a liability attached to doing so, unless someone does something that creates a particular risk that will injure somebody. We have moved on from that. I think that position also applies with respect to the scenario the Deputy outlined.