Written answers

Thursday, 16 July 2015

Department of Defence

National Emergency Plan Implementation

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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341. To ask the Minister for Defence when the next meeting of the national emergency coordination committee will take place; the number of meetings that have taken place in 2015 to date; the number he has chaired; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29875/15]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I chair the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning, which includes senior officials of Government Departments, senior officers of An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces and officials of other key public authorities, which have a lead or support role in Government emergency planning.

The Government Task Force on Emergency Planning meets on a regular basis. The next meeting will take place on Thursday, 23 July 2015. So far this year there have been two meetings of the Task Force. I chaired the first meeting on 26 February while the meeting on 30 April was chaired by Mr. Maurice Quinn, Secretary General of the Department of Defence. The Task Force held 7 meetings during 2014. While the details of matters discussed at meetings of the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning are confidential, I can confirm that the Task Force examines current risks and supports coordination arrangements for emergency planning across Government.

The Task Force is regularly briefed on such matters as the current security threat, which is provided by An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, as well as receiving regular updates on topical matters from the relevant lead Government Departments such as Ebola.

This includes the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, which chairs the National Steering Group under the Framework for Major Emergency Management, along with having the lead Government Department role and responsibilities in eleven of the forty two emergency scenarios set out in Annex A of the “Strategic Emergency Planning Guidance” (SEPG).

The Task Force regularly addresses other emergency planning issues ranging from risk assessment to training and exercises as well as receiving regular briefings on current issues from the various lead Government Departments on their specific roles and responsibilities and their associated work programmes. The Task Force establishes Subgroups from time to time to specifically look at particular areas of emergency planning that may need to be addressed.

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