Mr. Seán Hogan:

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for his comment. The group has had the privilege of leading a huge effort, not only at national level. I highlight the work of the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport and Communications, Climate Action and Environment, the ESB, with our colleagues in the Departments of Health and Justice and Equality who row in with us and the Department of Education and Skills. The lessons were learned in that Department. Decisions taken on the closing of schools were classic examples of how things should be done. The Department of Education and Skills makes the decision but we present information, for example, in respect of what was happening in Cork during Storm Ophelia and information provided by the ESB on the situation around the country. We might say that a decision needs to be made before 2 p.m. in order that members of the public are informed. This is how our system works.

The Department of Education and the Skills and the Minister for Education and Skills can make the decision and do that. That is how it works. I assure Deputy Ó Broin that it is a huge effort by the full panoply of not just central government but the local government system and our front-line services. We have put in a lot of work over a decade in trying to develop those services. There is a judgement issue in this regard and inevitably when there is a judgement issue, in retrospect, we will get that wrong somewhere. We generally put our hands up if we do.

To respond to the other questions on Brexit and its impact on Met Éireann, I do not want to speak for the organisation. I know it is part of our Department. Met Éireann is part of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts system. It is not dependent on the UK and Reading for all the pieces here. Met Éireann is well ahead. Regarding the developments that have taken place in forecasting, there is a high degree of confidence in the ten-day forecast. It is the main forecast on which we rely. Weather is a global system. It does not depend on country boundaries so the modelling is done on that global system.

I can assure the committee that our colleagues in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport keep a huge stock of salt so we will have a whole year of preparation. We know multiple sources are used for the delivery of salt stocks. From our bit of research on this, we are happy that we are okay there for the time being. Brexit will not impact hugely in those areas.