Vol. 407 No. 9
35 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment which Government Department has overall responsibility in the event of a major accident or emergency; whether the gardaí/Civil Defence /Army or the local authorities have responsibility to deal with major road, rail or air disasters; if he will outline the command structure to cater for such events; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Responsibility for peacetime emergency planning, including any necessary co-ordination with other Departments, rests with individual Departments in relation to their own areas of responsibility and with the bodies responsible for emergency services under the aegis of those Departments.
Major emergency plans are based on a common framework for a co-ordinated response to major emergencies adopted by the Government. The contents of the local authority plans are generic in character and are, therefore, applicable to all types of major emergencies. The plans include procedures for co-ordination between the different services responding to an emergency and with other agencies and services in a position to assist in particular circumstances.
