Sir, – Further to Kiran Sarma's "Government right to downplay threat of Isis attack here" (Opinion & Analysis, December 9th), Mr Sarma misinterpreted my analysis on the issue of the threat posed to Irish citizens by both man-made and natural disasters.
Simply put, Ireland is the most poorly equipped and trained state within the EU when it comes to emergency preparedness.
This is not the fault of first-line responders such as gardaí, paramedics, doctors and nurses. It is a consequence of years of austerity and cuts to vital services that leave our police force woefully ill-equipped and trained to deal with armed criminals, never mind terrorists.
A number of recent tragic incidents involving Garda fatalities attest to this underinvestment. Our emergency departments are clogged with elderly patients on trolleys and are ill-equipped to deal with a mass-casualty incident.
Aside from an attack by Islamic State, which I have consistently stated is not imminent or likely, Ireland could not cope with as mundane an incident as a scaffolding collapse in the city centre or a large traffic accident on the M50, or any other mass-casualty event for that matter.
With specific reference to an Garda Síochána and the changed terror threat, no police officer in the Republic can speak Arabic. In addition, the Garda does not have the technology to intercept email in an intelligence-gathering capacity.
In recent weeks, serving and retired gardaí and senior Army officers have expressed alarm and dismay at our inability to respond meaningfully to a major incident. The rhetorical device employed by Government here is to play down the threat and close down the conversation. This paternalistic and patronising approach is not in the public interest.
We need to talk about Ireland’s status as Europe’s weakest link in intelligence and security and emergency response capacity. After all, Paddy likes to know. – Yours, etc,
Dr TOM CLONAN,
Booterstown,
Co Dublin.