Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

The Government task force on emergency planning continues to meet on a regular basis, most recently on Wednesday, 9 November 2005. A special meeting of the task force was convened on Wednesday, 13 July 2005 at short notice in the aftermath of the London bombings of 7 July. The next meeting of the task force is scheduled for tomorrow morning. In addition, the interdepartmental working group on emergency planning, which is chaired by the Office of Emergency Planning, also continues to meet on a regular basis. Potential threats to the State arising from international terrorism are continually monitored and preparedness is reviewed by those involved, principally the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. The current advice available is that while the Garda authorities recognise that the terrorist threat to Europe may currently be high, in regard to Ireland it is low.

International links have also been important as a means of sharing expertise and resources. The European Union continues to develop programmes to improve co-operation within the EU to prevent and limit any consequences of threats. This was given new impetus by the EU declaration on combating terrorism, agreed under the Irish Presidency in 2004, which, among other aspects emphasises the benefits of co-operation and co-ordination.

Arrangements regarding national security issues that may arise are primarily a matter for the Garda Síochána. Emergency planning preparations are designed to ensure that as far as possible, the necessary advance planning is in place to deal with the consequences of any incident that may arise.

The Minister for Defence will continue to report regularly on a confidential basis to Government on emergency planning and to promote collaborative approaches at Government task force and interdepartmental working group levels so as to enhance co-ordinated emergency planning and the corresponding response and management capacities of the State.

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