Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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678. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number and date of meetings of the national emergency committee from 26 February to 5 March 2018; the Ministers that attended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11618/18]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is the Lead Government Department for coordinating the response to severe weather emergencies. On foot of weather forecasts from Met Éireann indicating that an episode of severe cold weather with potential for snowfall was likely to impact the country, my Department’s National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management decided to convene a National Emergency Co-ordination Group for Severe Weather (NECG).

The NECG first met on Monday 26 February, again on Tuesday 27 February and has met twice daily between Wednesday 28 February and Sunday 4 March, and once daily since then. The NECG is attended by all Government Departments and relevant Agencies and brings a “Whole of Government” response to bear in dealing with major emergencies.

The following is a breakdown of the NECG meetings by date and Ministers who attended either in person or by teleconference.