Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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299. To ask the Minister for Defence when the next meeting of the National Emergency Co-ordination Committee will take place; the number of meetings in 2015 to date; the number he chaired; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45816/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I would like to clarify that meetings of the National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) are convened and chaired by the Lead Government Department. In the case of severe weather events, these meetings are chaired by senior officials of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government as the lead Department and I have been personally briefed by the Chair of the NECG during the recent severe weather. When such NECG meetings are convened, representatives on the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning attend the first meeting and attendance at subsequent meetings is at the discretion of the Lead Government Department, who may also call in additional expertise when required.

Senior officials of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government have continued to chair the meetings of the NECG on Severe Weather in response to Storm Desmond and the associated flooding impacts, which have been held almost daily since the first meeting on 3 December 2015 to date. The NECG on Severe Weather is continuing to regularly brief the Government, Ministers and the relevant Departments and Agencies on the national responses to these impacts. The NECG has also held daily briefings with the media to inform the public of the evolving situation and the whole of Government response to it. It is envisaged that these meetings will continue this week depending on the evolving nature of the flooding situation being experienced and any further impacts the weather may have.

Separate to this severe weather response, 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 coordinates and oversees the emergency management policy and activities of all Government Departments and public agencies. It provides political leadership and facilitates coordination of emergency management between Government Departments/agencies on an ongoing basis and is supported by the Office of Emergency Planning within the Department of Defence. The Government Task Force meets on a regular basis throughout the year and the next meeting is planned to take place in early January 2016 given the fact that the National Emergency Coordination Group on Severe Weather has been meeting almost daily since 3 December 2015.

With regard to the previous meetings of the Government Task Force, there have been a total of five meetings held in 2015. I chaired the first meeting on 26 February 2015 and the last meeting held on 12 November 2015, which was followed by the launch of the Government’s “Be Winter Ready” Information Campaign. The other three meetings were held on 30 April 2015, 23 July 2015 and 8 October 2015 and were chaired by senior officials of the Department of Defence. While details of matters discussed at meetings of the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning are confidential, I can confirm that the Task Force continues to examine current risks and supports the coordination arrangements for emergency planning across a “Whole of Government” approach. The Government Task Force is also regularly briefed on matters such as the current security threat, which is provided by An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, as well as receiving regular updates and briefings on topical matters from the relevant lead Government Departments.