asked the Minister for Defence what special plans, if any, exist for civil defence in the event of an outbreak of war in which nuclear weapons are used.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Civil Defence Plans.
I would refer the Deputy to the reply given to his question on this subject on the 29th March, 1955, Dáil Debates, column 830, Volume 149, No. 6.
While our present civil defence plans take into account the possible use of nuclear weapons of the atomic bomb type in the event of war, they do not take into account the use of thermonuclear weapons of the hydrogen bomb type. These latter weapons can have enormously greater destructive power than the original atomic bomb and can produce a very much greater hazard as regards contamination from radio active "fall-out".
Sufficient information is not yet available to enable me to say what worthwhile plans can be made, within the resources of the State, to minimise the effects of the hydrogen bomb, if used, in the event of an outbreak of war.