Press release
Tánaiste chairs key meeting of Government Task Force on Emergency Planning
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris today (11 March) chaired a key meeting of the Government Task Force (GTF) on Emergency Planning.
The Taskforce discussed a wide range of issues, including the response to the recent Storm Éowyn and the potential impact of long-term gas outages on Irish Industry and households.
In relation to Storm Éowyn, it was agreed that the review into the extreme weather event in January would be submitted to Government by the summer.
The review will be split into two sub-groups - the first will focus on critical infrastructure with the other focussing on Community and Humanitarian Assistance.
At the meeting, the Tánaiste praised the “extraordinary leadership” shown by various State and government agencies in response to this extreme weather event.
He also heralded the “resilience” displayed at a community level, particularly in parts of the country that suffered lengthy power outages.
Speaking after today’s meeting of the GTF, the Tánaiste said:
“Storm Éowyn was one of the most severe storms in recent history and caused deep disruption in communities right across the country. I was therefore pleased today to chair a detailed discussion about how we deal with future Storms, the kind of lessons we can learn from Storm Éowyn, and how we can do better to support communities when these extreme weather events take place.
"All of the key departments and agencies are now feeding into a wider review which will be submitted to Government before the summer.”
Today’s meeting also featured briefings on security, risk management and the current work of the Office of Emergency Planning and the GTF Subgroups.
Officials from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications provided a briefing on the outcomes of the recently held Exercise Cathal, which examined the impacts of a long-term gas outage on Ireland.
The GTF is the top-level structure, chaired by the Minister for Defence, which gives policy, direction and coordinates and oversees emergency planning activities across all government departments and public authorities.
The GTF meets in the National Emergency Coordination Centre (NECC), at least 5 times a year and is comprised of Ministers, senior officials of government departments, senior officers of the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána, and officials of other key public authorities having a lead or support role in Government and national emergency planning.
The GTF has a number of active subgroups supported by the Office of Emergency Planning, which address issues such as risk, resilience, emergency communications, international engagement, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) and public information campaigns.
Responsibility for the response to an actual emergency at a National-level remains with the lead government department (LGD) identified in the Strategic Emergency Management National Structures and Framework (SEM).
The Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) provides the secretariat to the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning (GTF), supporting the Minister for Defence as Chair. The OEP coordinates emergency planning arrangements across Government using the Strategic Emergency Management; National Structures and Framework as its policy guide.
Additionally, OEP manages and operates the National Emergency Coordination Centre, for use by lead government departments in their planning, exercising and management of emergencies requiring national level coordination.
In relation to the Government Task Force, OEP’s mission is to coordinate, facilitate, and educate across Government on issues relating to strategic emergency management. OEP does this by working with all departments and key public authorities in order to ensure the best possible use of resources and compatibility across different policy areas and by progressing research in the area of emergency management