O’Dea: Irish and British may unite in face of disaster

IRISH and British forces could join together to deal with a big emergency on either side of the border, Defence Minister Willie O’Dea said yesterday.

Mr O’Dea was speaking as he insisted the €2 million cost of producing a booklet on how to deal with disaster situations, to be sent to every home in the next fortnight was a good use of taxpayers’ money.

The Air Corps and RAF already co-operate on a cross-border basis if an emergency requires it, and Mr O’Dea indicated such pooling of resources would be involved in planning for large disasters on this island.