Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 8: To ask the Minister for Defence if he will report on the February 2006 meeting of the task force on emergency planning that he chairs. [7482/06]

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 14: To ask the Minister for Defence when the task force on emergency planning last met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7206/06]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 39: To ask the Minister for Defence if he will report on the outcome of the most recent meeting of the task force on emergency planning; the issues that were discussed at this meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7179/06]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 14 and 39 together.

The Government task force on emergency planning has worked since it was set up in 2001 to co-ordinate emergency planning and response arrangements across the Departments that would lead and support the State's response in an emergency. The task force continues to meet regularly, most recently on Wednesday, 8 February, which was two weeks ago today. The membership of the task force includes Ministers, senior departmental officials, senior officers of the Defence Forces and Garda Síochána and officials of other key public authorities who have a lead or support role in Government emergency planning.

The Department of Agriculture and Food is represented on the task force, which it has briefed on avian flu developments most recently on 8 February. This issue is now a standing item on the task force's agenda and the situation will continue to be monitored and reviewed at future meetings. My colleague, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, who is responsible for dealing with the threat posed by an outbreak of avian flu, has introduced a range of measures aimed at minimising the risk of the virus being introduced to Ireland. Both she and her Department are keeping their contingency arrangements under constant review and refining them as necessary. Her Department's approach is informed by the most up-to-date scientific and veterinary advice available. Only last week the Minister appointed an expert advisory group to advise her as to the adequacy of the control measures in place.

The task force meeting on 8 February was also briefed by a representative of the Department of Health and Children on the plans being put in place to deal with any possible influenza pandemic. My colleague with lead responsibility in this area, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, is addressing the various issues that may arise. A detailed plan for response to an influenza pandemic was prepared in 2004. This plan is being updated to reflect the most up-to-date advice of the influenza pandemic expert group and the World Health Organisation. An interdepartmental standing committee chaired by the Department of Health and Children will meet on 27 February to consider the many cross-cutting issues that may arise.

The Government task force on emergency planning will continue to be briefed and updated on these matters and on related emergency planning issues on a regular and ongoing basis.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Is the Minister aware of Tom Clonan's recent study, which suggested that if a Stardust incident were to recur the city's accident and emergency units would be full within 20 minutes and would find difficulty in coping? Tom Clonan has carried out a number of studies indicating we would be unable to deal with a major emergency. Will the Minister comment on that?

For a possible flu pandemic, is the Minister satisfied that we have sufficient stocks of antivirals for members of the Defence Forces, who would obviously be on the front line in dealing with such an emergency?

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I am familiar with the work to which Deputy Gormley referred but I do not agree with that conclusion. We have a detailed twofold plan that specifies how the various aspects of the public would deal with a specific emergency and provides a number of specific disease-related plans for dealing with an outbreak of pandemic influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, smallpox and so on. Therefore, I am confident we would be able to deal with that. Mr. Tom Clonan, for whom I have great regard is not accurate in that assessment. On the possible outbreak of an influenza pandemic, the answer is that I am satisfied. The position with anti-virals is that the Government has decided we need sufficient stocks to cater for about 25% of the population initially. That would be about a million shots. We have 600,000 already and are expecting delivery of another 400,000. There is a pharmaceutical ingredient called oseltamivir phosphate powder, which is designed to treat children between the ages of one and five. We are awaiting delivery of a substantial consignment. It has been agreed that additional supplies of the other suitable antiviral drug, Relenza, should be stockpiled. Arrangements for the purchases of this additional stock are being finalised. The timeframe for delivery is under discussion with the suppliers.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I do not doubt the ability of this country to improvise if there is a slow-burner crisis, to put shoulders to the wheel and to deal with the issue. I have grave reservations, however, about an immediate or sudden crisis. To give one example, on 13 February on the M50 there was a crash involving a couple of trucks. Fortunately no one was fatally injured but the whole motorway closed for a few hours. I do not know whether the Minister's emergency task force will look at something like that. If not, will he say why it took so long for a helicopter to get into the air to try to start diverting traffic?

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I am not familiar with that specific incident, though I can make inquiries. One thing I have emphasised strongly for the emergency task force, which it does now on a regular basis as people such as Mr. Tom Clonan acknowledge, is that it conducts exercises. There have been quite a number involving crashes and pile-ups, train and car crashes etc. We saw the emergency services in action in the tragic situation in County Meath where a number of school children were killed and injured. Everybody agrees, including the parents of those children to whom I spoke on the day I went there, that the emergency services worked very well in practice. However, the job of the emergency task force is to continue to refine and develop its response to an emergency. To do that properly, as Mr. Clonan has pointed out and I agree, we have to conduct regular exercises. We have conducted exercises on nuclear fall-out and various other matters. One of the main types of exercise we conduct, however, is related to the fall-out from a crash, whether a road accident, train crash or whatever. We are continually exercising in that regard. I do not know what happened, as regards the incident to which Deputy Timmins referred.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It meant the whole place was bottled up for a few hours.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I will make inquiries into that. I am not familiar with it.

Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Given that the Air Corps is providing a helicopter service, as regards the M50, does the Minister not accept that it is impossible for anything other than dedicated service to be available? A report has shown that a helicopter medical service that is available on a North-South basis is essential. It would mean such a helicopter would be available together with a fully staffed crew, in effect a flying intensive care unit comprising doctor, medic etc., to go to the location of an accident. I agree that new helicopters are being brought on board. However, if those helicopters have a multitude of tasks to do, they will not be available when they are needed in such an emergency and lives will be lost. Lives have been lost and I can give the Minister the figures to prove that. Also, the equipment they carry reflects their multipurpose role, so they are not capable of doing the job that should be done. Lives have been lost, accordingly. Will the Minister comment on that because the helicopters he has are not dedicated and have many other jobs to do? As a result there are many incidences where people died on the side of the road because the proper stretchers were not available and so on. These are matters of public record. Does the Minister agree we need a dedicated helicopter emergency medical service?

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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My information is that the air rescue service is working very well. I am not aware of any instances, especially, where people died because of any fault or slowness in the services. When we were operating a helicopter rescue service using Army aircraft rather than the current arrangement, we ran out of capacity to provide a full 24-hour service because of industrial action — the Air Corps version of blue 'flu. Because of that we had to change that system. I am told the new system is working very well. If Deputy Cowley has particular examples where he believes people suffered further injury or even death, as a result of helicopters not being available in time, I invite him to communicate them to me, privately.

Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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I thank the Minister and I certainly will do that. The Beaumont study has shown that it can be up to 12 hours before a helicopter comes and people have died. A young lad from the west with head injuries after a road traffic accident died because of a delay in transferring him to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. A tourist died on the side of the road because a helicopter was delayed in arriving at the scene. There are many examples I will be pleased to give the Minister.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I look forward to getting those.