Minister for the Environment John Gormley said today the volcanic ash being emitted from Iceland's the
Eyjafjallajokull volcano posed no threat to drinking water supplies.
Mr Gormley said the travel chaos caused by the ash cloud had been discussed at Cabinet and he was in constant contact with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“It’s a very serious issue for this country, an island state that depends, for our exports and for our tourism, on planes. We hope that we can find a solution to this as quickly as possible,” he said.
“It is very much dependent on weather conditions and we’ve had unusual weather patterns now where a country that is known for wind... we haven’t had that wind and we haven’t had rain for quite some time.”
He also said Irish embassies around the world were on high alert to help holidaymakers unable to get home.
Asked if Ireland would follow Britain and deploy the Navy to help those stranded abroad, Mr Gormley said every option would be considered.
“That’ll be a matter for the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, but what I can say to you is every option will be considered because the longer this goes on the more urgent it becomes,” he said.
The minister said the national emergency committee would consider all options on a day-by-day basis, stating that the situation was becoming more acute by the day.
PA