Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

It is not appropriate to speculate on the matter raised in Deputy Kenny's first question but I assure the House that the Garda Síochána closely monitors the security situation, including threats to international security, on an ongoing basis. A small number of people are closely monitored and those under observation change from time to time. The situation in this regard has not changed greatly in the past year.

The Deputy's original question related to the National Security Committee and not emergency facilities. The only report that I have seen in regard to the crash was on the involvement of the national emergency committee and Naas General Hospital, which worked well. It is unfortunate that there was a fatality and a number of injuries but the system worked well from the perspective of emergency planning.

Regarding alternatives, many organisations involved, such as the Garda, local authorities and health groups, feel that their work and roles would be duplicated by an office of emergency planning to bring everything together, as is the case in some countries. What happens is they have a committee like the national security committee and other committees where they come together and co-ordinate their actions. They do this on an ongoing basis through direct contact and physical proximity meetings with each other. To replicate this in a major office or structure is not considered necessary by all of them.

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