From Department of Defence; Office of Emergency Planning
By: Minister for Defence; Micheál Martin
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Good morning everyone, as Chair of the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning, I am delighted to welcome you to the National Emergency Coordination Centre this morning.
Let me begin by thanking my colleague, Minister Jack Chambers for joining me for the formal launch of our 2023 Be Summer-Ready campaign.
I also want to extend a very warm welcome to Ms Evelyn Cusack, Head of Forecasting, in Met Eireann.
As we look forward to summer and begin to take advantage of the longer days and better weather, we want everyone to be able to enjoy our work and leisure activities in safety. Be Summer Ready is all about providing practical information to keep in mind when we are out and about.
The message of this year’s campaign is ‘Think Water Safety- Plan and Prepare’. It informs us about safety measures when going in, on or near the water, and has been developed in cooperation with the Irish Coast Guard.
We should all be conscious of our own personal safety when visiting the coast, lakes, rivers or the countryside.
We want to make sure that we can all enjoy our natural amenities while avoiding personal harm and the additional, unnecessary pressure on our emergency and front line services that increased activity on water can bring during summer.
I say this as someone who takes great pleasure in sea swimming along our beautiful coastline.
Apart from water-based activities, the summer months also bring an increased risk of injuries and fatalities from incidents on the farm and from road accidents. The risk of wildfires also increases over the summer months. As we have seen in recent years, wildfires can cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts as well as damage to property.
Being conscious of these increased risks and behaving accordingly can help keep everyone safe.
As part of today’s launch, I would like to especially recognise the commitment and dedication of our front line responders and the work of our Local Authorities in maintaining essential services throughout the year.
Let me also commend the many wonderful individuals, community groups and voluntary emergency services who provide support to the community throughout the year.
The emergency services rely heavily upon this community spirit to assist and support them.
The best way for us to acknowledge and show our appreciation for this support is of course to be alert to our own safety and to avoid unnecessary risks at all times.
The information on the campaign can be found online at gov.ie/summerready.
It is also available in a comprehensive booklet from libraries and Garda Stations and from the Office of Emergency Planning.
I am also pleased to note and want to commend the team for the fact that it is also available on the website in Ukrainian and Russian so that those who have fled from the terrible situation in Ukraine and have sought shelter in this country can also get the benefit of the advice it contains.
I’m pleased now to hand over to my ministerial colleague, Minister of State at Department of Transport, Jack Chambers.
I would like to thank Jack and his department for the assistance that they have given in preparing this campaign. He will provide you with further detail on the campaign and the risks we are highlighting through it.
Go raibh maith agaibh.