A new plan of action to help emergency services deal with major incidents is to be put to the Government for approval, it emerged today.
Speaking at the Chief Fire Officers' Association (CFOA) annual conference today, Minister of State at the Department of Environment Batt O'Keeffe described inter-agency co-operation as vital in dealing effectively with major emergencies.
He said the new plan would provide a "systematic approach" to the preparation of responses, and set out arrangements for the gardaí, fire services, the ambulance service and the Civil Defence to work together in the event of a major emergency.
"It sets out the mechanisms for co-ordination at all levels including on site, local, regional and national," he explained. "It defines a common language or terminology to make inter-agency working simpler," he added.
He said the new plan would ensure that Ireland was in line with international best practice.
"Clearly, the world in which we live has changed and we need to advance our major emergency management architecture to enable us to deal with the possibility of new risks and threats," he said.
The chairman of the CFOA, Jim Dunphy, said he understood that it would take up to two years for the new plan, which dates back to 1984, to be implemented properly.
He pointed out that the 25th anniversary of the Stardust fire occured this year, when 48 people were killed, and that it was also the 80th anniversary of the Dromcolloger cinema fire in Limerick. "We are often asked the question, could another Stardust occur?" he said.
Mr Dunphy explained that most of the Stardust tribunal recommendations had been implemented, but recommendations to establish an Inspectorate of Fire Services and a national training centre had yet to be addressed.
