asked the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures if he will arrange that no further tests of air-raid sirens shall be held, and that the public shall be be clearly informed that in future they will only be sounded in the event of an air-raid taking place.
Ceisteanna.—Questions. Oral Answers. - Testing of Air-raid Sirens.
It is necessary for the proper maintenance of the sirens that they should be tested periodically. Adequate testing requires that the sirens should be sounded. The present arrangement in Dublin provides for the testing of the sirens once each fortnight, on Saturdays. Due notice is given to the public in the Press and over the Radio of the date and time of the test.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary say, supposing this country were at war and for a period of, say, six weeks there were no air raids on the country, if these sirens would be sounded regularly every fortnight?
I cannot entertain suppositions.
It seems to me that the position is exactly analogous. Surely there is no necessity to sound these sirens as frequently as once a fortnight? There are very many people who do not see the advertisements and there is no question but it does affect their nerves seriously to hear the sirens going off. They do not know whether it is genuine or not. I wish the Parliamentary Secretary would consider whether it is necessary to sound them every fortnight.
So far we have made "nobody's flesh creep".