PUBLIC information and awareness campaign on emergency planning for man-made or natural disasters will be launched by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea on Monday.
The Office for Emergency Planning will issue an information booklet, entitled Preparing for Major Emergencies - An Introduction,to every household and school in the country. The 80-page publication contains introductory information on a range of possible emergencies for the coming decade or so.
These include basic information on how to cope with: flooding, hazardous chemical spills, accidents at sea, explosions and suspicious packages, nuclear incidents, pandemic influenza, animal diseases and fire.
It advises the public on how to prepare for such incidents - in the unlikely event that they might occur - and how best to react in emergency situations.
Part three of the publication advises households to prepare an "emergency kit" for all possible eventualities.
The advice is similar to that given to US citizens by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). It is designed to facilitate the mass evacuation of vulnerable civilians in the event of disasters.
Many of the lessons learned by Fema in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are contained in the Irish booklet.
The publication comes seven years after 9/11 when iodine tablets were issued to each Irish household following an infamous RTÉ radio discussion on nuclear contamination involving former minister of state Joe Jacobs, where he outlined the State's planned response to an accident or an act of sabotage at Sellafield.
The iodine tablets were a key part of government strategy, Mr Jacob said at the time, adding that the Department of Health would have stocks. However, there was controversy when it took months for the tablets to be distributed.
That alarmed the public and provoked some concern over Ireland's ability to cope with major emergencies.
Monday's launch will take place at the National Emergency Co-ordination Centre on Kildare Street in the Department of Agriculture's building. The completion of the centre in Dublin - within minutes of all emergency agencies - provides some tangible proof of the reassurances given to the public within the Government's new emergency planning booklet.
• Further, in-depth information on Irish emergency planning is to be found at www.emergencyplanning.ie
