The programme for Government includes a commitment to examine the potential of a rapid response unit under the Office of Emergency Planning led by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, which could be deployed when necessary to co-ordinate offers of help and assistance to those experiencing hardship following a severe weather event. Can the Taoiseach give us an update on that proposal? I ask that in the context of compacted snow on roads and footpaths which are quite treacherous, particularly in the eastern part of the country. Is there an intention to deploy snow ploughs on all major bus and commuter routes in Dublin? Will local authorities and, possibly, the Defence Forces be deployed to clear paths in urban areas, particularly in areas where there are shops, post offices and health care centres? While there is salting and gritting, they do not deal effectively with compacted snow. Many of the footpaths in Dublin today are like ice rinks. What is the status of the programme for Government commitment and what will done on the footpaths and roads in Dublin?

The Defence Forces are available to be deployed at the request of local authorities. Local authorities, the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, and many other bodies have snow ploughs and salt is stockpiled. Nobody can say whether that will be enough because we do not know the amount of snow that will fall, how long it will last or what blizzard conditions there will be. However, the equipment exists and the salt is stockpiled. It may be difficult, however, given the amount of snow we expect to fall and the conditions we expect. We must bear in mind that people's safety must come first. We are not going to send soldiers or local authority workers out in blizzards to clear snow. We must think about their safety as well.

The programme for Government commitment is being examined by the Office of Emergency Planning, but the difficulty arising is that having a rapid reaction force is not straightforward because all emergencies are different. A storm is different from a flooding event or a snow event or a chemical-related disaster. It is not as simple as just having a single rapid reaction force. One would potentially need a different one for each type of emergency.