The first in a series of four simulated exercises across the State to test the effectiveness of the National Emergency Plan will take place tomorrow.
The first exercise in the south and southeast region will examine the readiness of the Garda, Defence Forces, Air Corps, Fire Service, Civil Defence and health service staff across two regions to deal with a major emergency.
The exercise will test how well these personnel work together following a collision between a truck carrying hazardous waste and a bus carrying schoolchildren on the Youghal bypass. It will be closed to traffic from 8am to 3pm to facilitate the exercise.
A Garda spokesman said the exercise would involve all agencies who would attend a real-life emergency and it is being carried out as part of the work of the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning, set up following the 9/11 attacks.
He said traffic would be diverted through Youghal town and gardaí will be on duty to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.
The "injured", he explained, would be ferried to hospitals in Cork and Waterford and the coastguard helicopter would be involved in this mission, as would ambulance personnel.
Given the regular overcrowding in the accident and emergency department of Cork University Hospital, it will be of interest to all involved to see how it copes. Earlier this month the department had to turn away "walking wounded" due to overcrowding. It could only deal with emergencies arriving by ambulance.
An Army spokesman said yesterday it was deploying a company of troops (between 50 and 100 personnel) to the Youghal area to provide logistical support and to cordon off the scene of this week's test of emergency planning.
The Government Task Force on Emergency Planning is chaired by the Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea.
A spokeswoman for the Health Service Executive Southern region said Mr O'Dea had asked for the emergency plan to be tested at four locations across the State. Tomorrow's is the first and it is not yet known when and where the other tests will be carried out.
After each exercise the response of all agencies to the "emergencies" will be evaluated to see what lessons, if any, need to be learned.