I call on the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley to make a statement under Standing Order 43. The following arrangements apply: the statement shall be confined to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Minister for Transport and the Minister for Defence, who shall be called upon in that order, and shall not exceed, ten minutes, five minutes and five minutes, respectively.
Weather Conditions: Statements
The current cold weather is starting to break records. It has been almost 40 years since we have had snow and ice so early in the winter, and it is unusual for the cold weather to persist so intensively without respite. The forecasts tell us this cold snap will last for at least a further week.
With the prospect of these challenging conditions set to stay with us for such a period, in our considerations this morning we have to recognise the exceptional nature of what we are dealing with. Snowfalls have impacted across many, but not all parts of the country. As the cold spell has gone on and ground temperatures have lowered, the snow is not melting, even at low elevations. All of the country is enduring unusually low temperatures, with very difficult travelling conditions. We have had freezing fog in places. Conditions therefore are particularly difficult for road users, and these conditions have become positively dangerous. I again urge people to minimise journeys and to take proper care if they must go out, either as pedestrians or on the roads.
Notwithstanding the difficulties endured by the public and by those trying to manage the situation on the ground, the Government has brought forward several key lessons from last January to this current crisis. We entered this winter with a number of significant enhancements across the various sectors. My colleagues will speak more fully about some of the specific preparations, particularly in the critical transport sector. My Department's role centres on ensuring that all the efforts taken in the individual sectors are joined up and that the necessary co-ordination takes place at national level and in respect of the emergency response carried out at local level. Truly, it is this collaborative effort that makes the difference and this is what one has seen in operation since the start of this cold spell at the end of last week.
Personnel in all relevant agencies nationwide have the experience gained from last winter and are working hard together to keep the primary objective of maintaining the critical primary road networks and public transport functioning. I note the Minister for Transport is working well with all those agencies. There also has been an effective joined-up approach to the critical task of providing information to the public and keeping people reminded of critical safety messages. The Government's other big objective is to get through this with minimal loss and I note the old values of community have emerged strongly over the past few days. Neighbours know the importance of checking on old people in their communities. Notwithstanding the extremes being encountered, our significantly enhanced preparations are standing us in good stead this winter as a result.
The aim at all times of the Government and the agencies of State is to minimise disruption and to ensure society functions as close to normality as possible. Despite all its best efforts, some disruption is inevitable but I and my ministerial colleagues speaking today in the Dáil are satisfied that this disruption will be limited to what is unavoidable. The Government recognises that even with the best pre-planning, the intensity and duration of the weather is stretching the financial resources of local authorities. Consequently, I am pleased to be able to state that I will make available €15 million from my Vote for those local authorities that are most in need of supplementary funding, as a contribution to their exceptional costs over and above the costs they ordinarily would be expected to meet in the context of yearly winter weather demands. My Department will be in touch with local authorities in respect of making the necessary arrangements.
I will now outline in more detail some of the co-ordination measures being taken to provide reassurance that the Government has in place a coherent and comprehensive approach to respond to the current and forecast severe weather. The role of my Department in severe weather events is to ensure inter-agency co-ordination arrangements are led by local authorities in satisfactory manner; and when an event escalates, to ensure that regional co-ordination arrangements operate where these are of assistance to the overall effort. Furthermore, when events are such as to have such a significant impact, its role is to establish an interagency co-ordination committee at national level to bring together a "whole of government" response. Finally, its role is to provide advice and assistance to local authorities where necessary.
The current response has involved strong interdepartmental and interagency co-ordination and collaboration. Given the depth and likely length of the current cold spell and the risks of severe disruption, the relevant Departments and agencies have been meeting under the aegis of the interagency co-ordination committee to ensure a fully joined-up approach underpins their actions. This group has met on a daily basis since the start of this severe weather and has been joined by my ministerial colleagues, Deputies Dempsey and Killeen.
The primary issues in the early stages of this cold weather have been transport-related, and the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, the transport agencies and local authorities have been working well together and have been successful in minimising disruption and restoring transport routes where these have been badly affected. To further ensure that the wider range of emergent issues are dealt with as they arise, the interagency group now includes representatives from across the full breadth of the Government, including the health and education sectors. Similar co-ordination groups are working together at local level in a like manner to deal with the issues and priorities for their particular areas. This is how our emergency management arrangements work and the Government is satisfied that the arrangements for leadership and co-ordination at both local and national levels are in line with best international practice and that those involved are fulfilling this critical role very strongly.
Timely information is vital to respond promptly and effectively and to maximise the benefits of our resources. Local authorities are provided with information from a number of systems. These include the public service weather warnings from Met Éireann, and the lceCast road weather information system operated by the National Roads Authority in conjunction with Met Éireann. These systems ensure that the most up-to-date information is available to those managing the response on an hour-by-hour basis at local level.
The agreed priority for local authorities during periods of severe cold is to keep open for traffic the full national road network and other key strategic routes and public transport routes. These roads carry an estimated 60% of total traffic and approximately 80% of commercial traffic. Some roads are being treated three times a day and the agencies under the aegis of my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, are doing considerable work to co-ordinate movement of salt to the worst-affected local authorities. Other roads are dealt with on an as-needs basis by local authorities, for example, to provide access to medical facilities, emergency services, schools and commercial districts and to respond to specific situations or community events.
Local authorities also liaise with the Garda Síochána and Health Service Executive and work with the Civil Defence and the Defence Forces, where necessary, to ensure that key services such as public health nurses are able to access isolated clients in rural areas and to deal with specific priorities at local level. The HSE has comprehensive arrangements in place to deal with severe weather arrangements and liaises with the Defence Forces for the pick-up of patients in urgent need who are stranded. Local authorities also work with voluntary and community organisations to address specific issues, where appropriate. Local authorities are active, in conjunction with other statutory and voluntary agencies, to ensure that homeless people or those at risk are assisted in response to their accommodation needs. As local authorities cannot get to every road and footpath after every fall of snow, the response of individuals, local communities and volunteer groups is critical. I urge people and businesses to clear the footpaths in front of their premises and thank most heartily the many thousands who already are doing this most neighbourly work.
Turning to decisions on whether schools should open or remain closed, these are a matter for local school management who best know local circumstances and are empowered to make decisions accordingly. The Department of Education and Skills encourages schools to co-ordinate with each other regarding openings and closures.
I wish to conclude my contribution by paying tribute to the commitment and dedication of local authority personnel in keeping the country open for business. Staff are working long hours in difficult conditions and I wish to state on record that their effort is fully appreciated. The Ministers for Transport and Defence will give more detail on the effort being undertaken in the areas within their remit but in advance of their contributions, I join in appreciation for the effort of staff, both in our three sectors and right across the public services, who have been working so hard and in such a co-operative manner.
As my ministerial colleague, Deputy Gormley, has stated, the Government's response to the current severe weather is being led by him as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Such severe weather conditions probably cause more difficulties in respect of transport than any other area. When it emerged that there was likely to be a prolonged spell of severe weather, the Department of Transport convened a meeting of its agencies to try to best co-ordinate their efforts and to try to ensure that the relevant information was provided to the public as quickly as possible. That first meeting took place on Friday of last week. Since then, the Government task force interagency response group on severe weather has been meeting on a regular basis and together with my colleagues, the Ministers, Deputies Gormley and Killeen, I have joined a number of those meetings.
The key messages that this group is trying to communicate to the public is that priority attention is being given to national routes and public transport corridors. Not every road in Ireland can or will be salted and there is no point in pretending otherwise. Furthermore, driving can be hazardous and so the group urges people to use public transport if possible and it repeatedly asks people to avoid unnecessary journeys.
Met Éireann has reported that the current cold spell will continue at least up to and including Wednesday of next week. Obviously, all local authorities are and will continue to treat roads on a prioritised basis during that period. The agreed objective for local authorities during such weather is to keep open for traffic the national primary road network, as well as other key strategic and public transport routes. The roads that are targeted, which are listed on the NRA and local authority websites, carry approximately 60% of total traffic and approximately 80% of commercial traffic.
I join with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, in acknowledging the fantastic work done by so many people across all of the different agencies, in particular the local authorities in terms of their ensuring priorities are, in so far as possible, met. Regardless of the difficulties being encountered, and I knowledge there were particular difficulties yesterday, it is important we acknowledge the work being done by those people. Information is key in these situations and I take this opportunity to also publicly acknowledge the role played by RTE, TV3 and radio stations in providing people with up to the minute information as supplied to them. This is a vital public service. While the print media is not as immediate, it too has played its part.
Given the forecast for the extended period of cold weather, salt supplies need to be managed in a prudent manner to meet existing and anticipated needs. Further salt supplies will be delivered in the coming weeks to ensure that our supplies are topped up for January and February, which are traditionally the coldest months. As I stated, there is 90,000 kilometres of road in this country and we cannot keep all of them clear. With regard to footpaths, members of the public and business operators are encouraged to safely clear snow and ice from the area in front of their premises. The clear legal advice to Government on this issue is that people will not be held legally liable as long as they do not create an additional safety hazard by their actions. Again, given there are 2,500 footpaths in the Dublin area alone, it will not be possible to treat all of them. Any assistance that can be given by people in this regard will make a difference. The same legal advice applies in respect of farmers helping out, a point raised earlier by Deputy Coonan.
The NRA is procuring salt for the local authorities. The current contract for supply is for 80,000 tonnes. The initial call was for 50,000 tonnes but an additional 30,000 tonnes has been ordered. This supply was in addition to the 20,000 tonnes of salt stock available since earlier this year. As such we started off with 70,000 tonnes of salt. This time last year we had only 10,000 tonnes of salt in stock. The NRA has confirmed that adequate salt stocks are in place nationally and are being distributed as required to local authorities to meet the priorities laid out. In addition, the NRA invested €6 million this year in acquiring additional dry storage facilities for de-icing salt and a further €2.5 million for grit spreads and snow blades, etc., for the local authorities. As stated by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, the most important task for the various Government agencies is to ensure there is a co-ordinated response and that information is available to the public and this will continue.
The task force on emergency planning was set up post-September 2001 and is chaired by the Department of Defence. Subsequent to its establishment, the national emergency co-ordination centre was set up in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food building, which is where meetings in relation to emergencies of this nature take place. There is a national steering group on the framework for major emergency management under which all of the activities outlined by my colleagues, Ministers Gormley and Dempsey, operate. A roles and responsibilities document agreed in 2008 deals with more than scenarios and sets out which is the lead Department in each of those scenarios. The office of emergency planning provides support for those people and has a communications network, which is interesting. I invite Members who may be interested in doing so to come and see how it operates.
Historically, there have been quite a few occasions of severe weather in respect of which the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has taken the lead. In the recent past, the Department of Health and Children took the lead in regard to the H1N1 influenza pandemic. Prior to that we had the pork dioxin crisis in respect of which the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food took the lead. During the volcanic ash crisis the Department of Transport took the lead role. The document sets out exactly who has responsibility and who takes over in a whole series of situations.
We have also agreed a document which sets out the triggers for the calling of a meeting of Departments and agencies. I thank all of the groups, agencies and Departments for the manner in which they have fulfilled their responsibilities in this regard and for the manner in which they have supported each other. I join with my colleagues in thanking the many local authority staff, including the Civil Defence, military, HSE and other staff who have played an active role during the past three or four days and who have worked way beyond the time designated for them. It is important to acknowledge the work they have done. I also join with my colleagues in thanking the media for making information available to people so that they know exactly what to do.
On liability in respect of homeowners, occupiers or voluntary organisations clearing snow in front of their premises, the Attorney General has advised that no liability attaches to people clearing snow or doing anything of that nature, provided they do not create an entirely new hazard, which one would assume would not be the case. There has been confusion in this regard among people around the country. As stated by my colleagues, we have only finite resources. Obviously, the maximum amount of resources will be made available. The military will provide support when requested to do so by a local authority or local gardaí. Given our current difficulties we must prioritise and this is being done. We are happy to support HSE personnel and others who are the first line of defence for people who are ill and to co-ordinate and co-operate with local community groups and organisations, farming and otherwise, who are making wonderful efforts to provide support to individual householders such as people living alone or in remote areas. That spirit, along with the wonderful work being done by local authority and other staff, helps us in getting through a difficult period successfully.
We now move to the questions and answers session. As time is limited, I ask that Members put succinct questions.
I join with the Ministers in thanking all of the emergency services, local authority and NRA staff who have been doing a good job within the resources available to them.
Can the Minister confirm to the House what tonnage of salt is currently in NRA storage? My understanding is that yesterday the NRA had 40,000 tonnes of salt, which means, given the NRA indicated it would use 4,000 tonnes last evening, it has 36,000 tonnes today. If we are using between 3,500 and 4,000 tonnes per day we have nine days of supply remaining. Is that correct?
Perhaps the Minister will also indicate to the House the level of supplies that are available to local authorities independent of the NRA. This is a question to which we cannot get an answer unless we ring individual local authorities. I presume the Minister can answer that question. Who is responsible for purchasing salt? I understand that the NRA is taking responsibility for purchasing sufficient stocks for primary routes in the country and certain designated secondary routes. My understanding was that the NRA was also to provide a centralised purchasing facility for salt, to import salt to provide it to local authorities for secondary routes when and where appropriate. Is this the case?
We have 20 minutes remaining and eight Members are offering.
Then this is a farce.
It is a farce we agreed to.
On footpaths, is it not unreasonable to ask that local authorities would salt main pavements in towns and cities in Ireland, as is the norm in the vast majority of other European cities.
On the last point, it is unreasonable to expect every pavement——
I did not say that. I said main pavements.
The Deputy's definition of "main" may differ from mine.
Everybody thinks the one outside his or her own door is the main one. I have said on a number of occasions that it is unreasonable with 90,000 km of roads and 2,500 km of footpaths in Dublin alone to expect that footpaths would be done. The plan is to ensure priority routes that are necessary to keep the country going, commercially and otherwise, are salted and kept open. That is the absolute priority. Anything over and above that is extra. That is the absolute essential.
The Deputy is correct that there are approximately 36,500 tonnes of salt on the island at this time. The usage is approximately 3,500 tonnes a day, depending on the weather. That was exceeded on a number of days because of snow returning. The weather forecast over the next three or four days indicates that, from tomorrow, there will be less snow and that will affect the tonnage spread.
There will be frost.
Deliveries due include 6,000 tonnes before 10 December, 15,000 tonnes on 16 December and 10,000 tonnes on 22 December. In addition, 30,000 tonnes are on order to come in pre-Christmas and 20,000 tonnes post-Christmas. We also have access to 1,000 tonnes a day from our colleagues in Northern Ireland but we have not touched that yet. That is the position on salt supply.
I would also like to be associated with the praise of those on the front line working to ameliorate the severe weather conditions. Local authority staff and staff of Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Iarnród Éireann are all public servants and they have made a contribution. Very often, people speak ill of public servants but they have worked night and day in the past week. Much of the gritting has to be done in the middle of the night and theirs has been a fantastic achievement. They have done tremendous work and I pay tribute to them.
The Minister for Transport outlined the position on salt supplies. It was reported earlier that we are competing with England, Wales and Scotland for salt and the manner in which the Minister has prepared and ensured 50,000 tonnes of salt will be available in January and 30,000 tonnes in February is positive. However, could there be a shortage? Dublin City Council has begun rationing salt supplies for certain roads.
The Minister said farmers could ask for a truck load of salt to be deposited nearby and they could then take it to spread on access roads. Could that also be done on housing estates in urban areas? It is difficult for local authorities to access these estates but if salt was left on the estate, local people could spread it.
I welcome the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government's statement that €15 million in supplementary funding is being made available. However, the Minister for Transport stated he did not have a reserve allocation for severe weather conditions. What used to be abnormal is becoming the norm. Should he put in place a reserve allocation in order that local authorities can plan in advance because there is competition between them and the NRA for scarce salt?
The Deputy is correct that we are competing with others for salt but the volumes I set out are contractually committed and, therefore, we are sure of those supplies. We will identify more supplies as soon as possible for January and February and have them in reserve. These contracts will not be affected by the fact that there could be a shortage.
The NRA is responsible for salt distribution to local authorities. That was one of the results of severe weather event earlier this year. Some local authorities ran short at crucial times while others had no difficulty. This time round the NRA will supply salt where the need is greatest. This has to be done prudently and wisely.
With regard to housing estates, the priority for local authorities has to be roads. If people want to grit locally, that is fine but it is not a matter for the NRA. The only difficulty that might arise on a housing estate relates to storage. The Deputy's suggestion is good but storage would have to be done carefully so as not to create a hazard. It should be somewhere visible.
I seek clarification of the legal implications of people gritting their own roads. No Minister has given a clear statement in this regard. Have they advice from the Attorney General? I contacted local authority officials earlier about gritting these estates and they said they would not do it because they are afraid of litigation. A clear statement is needed from the Ministers in this regard. The issue is storing grit and salt at the end of a road and locals being allowed to grit dangerous sections. It is a simple proposal and, for the past three days, Members have been trying to establish it.
Will the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government ask local authorities to grit the main areas of towns and villages?
The issue of liability does not arise for snow that is cleared in a safe manner.
On main roads. What about in front of a premises?
The same applies. No liability attaches. We have clear and unequivocal advice. I cannot make it any clearer and I ask the Minister for Defence to reiterate this.
Can local authorities be informed this afternoon?
They have been.
I refer to the issue raised by Deputy Tom Hayes regarding the distribution of salt to third parties. As with the clearance of footpaths, the issue of liability does not arise where the material is delivered, stored and used in a safe manner and does not cause hazard. I have arranged for a direction to be given to users of material to ensure common sense measures are taken in the storage and use of the supplied material.
I would also like to be associated with the positive remarks made about public sector workers, including emergency service staff, electricity and telephone engineers, local authority staff and others. During the previous severe weather event, we had a Minister on holidays and a Minister in the country. At the time, there was confusion about who was the lead Minister and which was the lead Department. Who is the lead Minster? Which Department is the lead Department in dealing with the current emergency?
Approximately 4,000 tonnes of salt is distributed every day and grit to the value of €5 million has been purchased. On the basis of the figures outlined by the Minister for Transport, sufficient material is available to spread on roads for the next ten to 11 days. Have additional materials been sought? Has an order been placed?
Following an investigation into the response to last year's severe weather conditions, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government recommended that, "The Department of Transport and the National Roads Authority should oversee and manage a national programme of salt procurement, distribution, storage and ensure stocks are sufficient". Has such a programme been put in place?
Finally, I have two simple questions. First, the local authority in County Cork seems to have a legal difficulty with the distribution of grit, but I believe the Minister will answer my query on that. Second, we could learn from our European partners because we are not just talking about roads, but also footpaths. Walking across the capital city at the moment is quite a hazardous job. One cannot get over to Grafton Street right now. We are not talking about rural Ireland, but the capital city. The responsibility for clearing snow outside properties on the Continent is with the business or the householder. Given that this will be a recurring event, is it time that we introduce legislation that deals with this matter?
Interagency co-ordination is a matter for my Department and that is being led ably by Mr. Sean Hogan. The Deputies are familiar with Mr. Hogan and I congratulate him on his hard work. The last number of days have been difficult for motorists and indeed pedestrians, but these are matters for the Minister for Transport. The delineation is very clear. The recommendation on the procurement of salt has been followed through and it is now at a national level and has worked very well.
The last question was on footpaths. If one goes to London and Berlin, which are cities with which I am familiar, one will find exactly the same situation. It makes sense to carry out a comparison with our responses last year, when they managed under terrible conditions to keep the national primary routes clear, even though they were running low on salt. Overall, that has worked out quite well.
I will be brief. We have 36,500 tonnes of salt on the island. We have a call on 1,000 tonnes in Northern Ireland if we need to do it. Up to 6,000 tonnes will arrive before 10 December, 15,000 tonnes on 16 December, 10,000 on 22 December and a further 30,000 tonnes to come in pre-Christmas. The bad weather spell is due to start abating on Wednesday of next week in so far as we can say that now, so there are adequate salt supplies to cover us.
I suppose we learned from last year, but I would congratulate front line staff on what they are doing. The people who are doing the gritting in my area are working 20 hours a day, with four hours sleep, and that went on for eight weeks last year.
On the local LMFM radio station yesterday, I called for the ban to be lifted on local authorities depositing salted grit at crossroads for people in places like Moynalty, Rathkenny, Slane, Duleek and Ardcath. Is the Minister saying that Meath County Council can deposit gritted or salted sand in places that our maps in county council offices for the last 30 years have identified as dangerous? Is it true that it can be done by the local people and they do not have to have health and safety training?
I received a telephone call yesterday from Moynalty and was told that the NRA was warned that Moynalty would be gritted in the afternoon. Can the Minister tell Meath County Council and other county councils to transfer deposits of gritted sand and that the people who put it down are not liable?
We have given the legal advice three times at this stage and it does not change. It is as we said it was and it is entirely a matter for the local authorities. The priority given to local authorities is to salt roads, so they may not have the equipment or the resources to divert. It is a matter for discretion at local authority level and where there are difficulties such as those outlined by the Deputy, I think some arrangements can be made. The HSE is on our committee for instances of specific difficulties of people having to get to hospitals or something like that. We are trying to co-ordinate all of that.
I would just like to receive clarification on the health and safety issue.
Please, allow other Deputies in. I call on Deputy Timmins.
The public are annoyed, but they are not unreasonable and they do not expect miracles. I think local authorities should give out a schedule of roads that they intend to grit. It is important for people to know when their road will be gritted. There is a young gentleman in Valleymount who goes for dialysis. We should create a national register of people who are susceptible to being isolated so that they can make their medical appointments.
The public has a right to know and we are making that information available. It is available not just through local radio stations, but also on www.transport.ie for people who have access to the Internet. The schedule of gritting and salting is up on the website, as are the roads and maps. Information flow is absolutely vital.
In every instance where support has been sought from the military, we have been in a position to provide it, particularly in cases like that mentioned by Deputy Timmins.
I think it would be in everybody's interest if a uniform message could be sent from local authorities. We have seen one local authority do one thing and another do another. There is a great amount of side roads in rural constituencies like the one I represent, but the emphasis is on national primary roads. We should be able to tell the local authority what determines an emergency. I am talking about schools on side roads, the Cheshire Home that the emergency services could not access, and so on. Why was this system not tested? Three of the gritting machines in Mayo were in the garage yesterday because they broke down.
The way that this is framed is that we respond to the local issue. For example, they are lucky in Cork that they do not have a problem. This plan has been framed so that the local authority can respond at a local level in a local way. That has worked well. I cannot account for the fact that three gritting machines have broken down in the Deputy's area. I do not know the circumstances in which that actually occurred, but I know that all the stops are being pulled out all over the country, and the local authorities are working around the clock. One Deputy just said that some of these workers are getting four hours' sleep and that is the case.
A number of exercises have been carried over the year and over a period in respect of dealing with specific emergencies. Unfortunately, the emergency that arose in Mayo was not foreseen.
Are Civil Defence workers covered by the legislation? If there was a voluntary corps set up that was similar to the Civil Defence, would they be covered? If not, would the Government look at bringing in legislation that would cover such a group? They could be trained as they do much work when there are floods, so they could do it as well when there is snow.
There are many young people throwing snowballs at cars and they are doing damage to the cars. I experienced it myself the other night and it is quite dangerous. Does the Minister have thoughts on that?
Civil Defence has its own training and makes its own provision with regard to insurance, etc. The principle that I outlined in respect of the supply of salt to local communities also applies to voluntary groups. In other words, common sense has to be used and advice on how to use it has to be sought. Representatives of the Garda have been present at the task force meetings. Some of the work the force has to do is of critical importance, for example in facilitating the passage of Luas trams through junctions. Unfortunately it is true, as Deputy Tuffy has said, that the behaviour of a small minority of citizens — pedestrians and others — has been extremely unhelpful. The presence of gardaí has been strategically used to try to deal with that in the key places.
I asked for clarification on a health and safety issue.
What is the health and safety issue?
Some local authorities are using the excuse that a health and safety issue arises if people undertake these works themselves.
There was a suggestion that training may be required.
It would be helpful if we could get clarification on that issue.
We are well over time.
Two Ministers have said there is no legal liability concern as long as the salt is delivered, stored and distributed in a safe manner. The problem local authorities have with that is the use of the term "safe manner". Do agricultural contractors or farmers who are willing to spread salt and grit need health and safety training to be allowed to do so? That is the issue.
We need to get the word out in relation to the actual liability. That information should be distributed as widely as the rest of the information. It should be published on the Internet and broadcast on radio and television. It should also be given to the local authorities.
That has been done.
The only requirement is that any necessary direction be given to users of material to ensure common sense measures are taken when the supplied material is being stored and used. It would not be helpful for me to get into the long legal advice that has been given.
I would like to make a proposal.
We have gone well over time. I am not opening another round of supplementary questions.
I propose that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government should e-mail the various city and county managers throughout the country with regard to what has been decided here this afternoon.
I will do that.
The Minister has indicated that the emergency committee will issue a statement on that matter, in the interests of clarity, either today or tomorrow.
Today would be preferable.
Apparently it is being done.
It will be done today.
Very good.