John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for his response.

It is clear from his response that he recognises the necessity of the review and how in-depth it needs to be. The Tánaiste also has a clear understanding of the suffering people endured. In terms of the range of skills that is available to the Defence Forces, one area that comes to mind is medical and support skills for people who are medically vulnerable. There certainly is a sense in certain locations, when there was no power, that medical assistance was needed or would have been required and the Defence Forces might have been in a position to provide that.

The Tánaiste put his finger on it when he said that the Defence Forces came to the aid of the civic authorities in all places where it was requested to do so. However, some agencies might be unclear of when that request can be made. The Commission on the Defence Forces report proposes that there should be "Clear inter-agency policies and planning for the deployment of the Defence Forces". We could incorporate that into the review of Storm Éowyn and how we can use that recommendation going forward.

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