Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The emergency planning task force, of which I am chairman, is never completely happy with contingency arrangements. It is for this reason that exercises are conducted and the task force meets regularly. In light of experience and new methods of terrorism, we are improving plans consistently.

A number of simulated exercises at Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport were audited by the relevant European authorities and found to be first class, but this does not mean we can become complacent. We are constantly improving airport security and I have instructed the relevant people to conduct more exercises in the near future to determine what else can be learned. While we are never fully happy, we are always improving and our contingency arrangements are as good as those found anywhere.

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