I raise today the issue of Ireland's emergency response capacity. Every household in the Republic received a booklet a number of years ago entitled Preparing for Major Emergencies. On the opening page of it, the Government gives us a definition of what constitutes an emergency:

A major emergency is an event which, usually with little or no warning, causes or threatens injury or death, or serious disruption of essential services. It may also cause damage to property, the environment or infrastructure beyond the normal capabilities of the principal emergency services...

In the booklet, the first example the Government gives us of an emergency is flooding. After the big snow of 2010, the then Minister for the environment, John Gormley, set up the National Emergency Co-ordination Centre, which is located in Agriculture House just down the road. This was set up so that once all of the authorities - the Departments of the environment, justice and Health which, in turn, oversee the activities of the HSE, An Garda Síochána and the local authorities - are mobilised in the event of an emergency, they can release all of their assets and personnel to assist people. For example, the demarcation between private and public property no longer applies so that meaningful assistance can be given to people, as has happened in Rathfarnham, Nutgrove and Enniscorthy.

There is also the capacity for the State to mobilise the Defence Forces in aid of the civil authority. We have barracks around the country, including Cathal Brugha Barracks not far from Rathfarnham, where there are dozens of high-axle and four-wheel-drive vehicles and hundreds of Defence Forces personnel who would give their eye teeth to be allowed to go out and provide assistance in events such as those that took place, with a family with a small baby being lifted out of the window of an apartment and placed in a boat. We actually have the tools and the instruments to deal with major emergencies. I note that the definition referred to an event that "usually with little or no warning, causes or threatens" this damage. The flood damage that took place on Tuesday was foreseeable and predictable. What is going to happen later on today and tomorrow - hopefully it can be mitigated in some way - is also foreseeable and predictable, so I would ask that the relevant Ministers be a little bit more proactive in declaring the emergency and mobilising the assets to help citizens, instead of blaming other agencies and, in effect, shooting the messenger. It would be great to have a debate here with the relevant Ministers to talk about our emergency response capacity and how we can assist. We have a duty of care to assist our citizens.