Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I cannot agree with the Minister that the planning was adequate for the serve weather we experienced. The supply and delivery of salt was certainly not adequate and the fact that Dublin Bus closed most nights at 9 p.m. was unsatisfactory, as was the fact there was no antifreeze at Dublin Airport and the snowploughs there were not adequate to deal with some of the snow.

There was very severe weather towards the end of November and throughout nearly all of December, which may be an eventuality we will experience on a regular basis. Will the Minister put in place, if not an emergency plan, a structured national plan with a budget so the local authorities, the Department of Transport and the other relevant bodies are able to prepare well in advance and ensure we do not have a situation where people's travel plans are destroyed at one of the busiest times of the year, which is what happened in many cases? While the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has the lead role at present, given so much transport is involved, it might be more appropriate that the Minister for Transport would have the lead role.

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