Disaster planning in place - Taoiseach

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern today said Ireland had "comprehensive" emergency plans in place for man-made or natural disasters.

A public awareness campaign on emergency planning for man-made or natural disasters was unveiled today by the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea.

Speaking this afternoon, the Taoiseach said: "At the core of this campaign is the goal of awareness and reassurance. It is not to cause undue concern that the Government believes an emergency is any more likely now than in the past. It is simply to tell the public that we have comprehensive plans in place.

“Ireland has a very good track record in this area. Our handling of the foot-and-mouth disease for example, has shown us to be in the forefront in this field."

A handbook, Preparing for Major Emergencies - An Introduction,will be delivered to households over the next fortnight. There will also be an advertising campaign urging people to read the booklet, which is also published on www.emergencyplanning.ie, and to keep it for reference.

It offers advice on dealing with scenarios such as flooding, dangerous chemical spills, nuclear incidents, and pandemic influenza.

The campaign is a response to the findings of market research that showed the public wanted reassurance the Government had plans ready.

The Department of Health recently decided not to reissue householders with iodine tablets that were sent to every home in the State in 2002 for taking in the event of a major nuclear accident.

The tablets were issued after Joe Jacob, then minister of state with responsibility for nuclear safety, outlined on radio the State's strategy to deal with any incident at Sellafeld.