Some time before the end of this month, every household in the country is due to receive a booklet from the Department of Defence advising on how to prepare for and navigate various potential emergencies. It will contain information on how to deal with floods, storms, power outages due to failures in the electrical grid water disruptions and other scenarios. Speaking last month at the launch of the initiative, which the Government has given the name “Be Emergency Ready”, the Minister for Defence Helen McEntee said that the campaign was “about helping people and families take simple actions now so that we are better prepared should disruption occur”, and that “a small amount of preparation today can make a significant difference tomorrow”.

All of this is true enough, and there is a good deal of common sense wisdom in encouraging individuals and communities to take practical measures to prepare themselves for potential emergencies. A supply of drinking water and canned foods sufficient to get you through a few days; a wind-up radio stashed away in a cupboard; a couple of flashlights and charged powerbanks; hard copies of important personal documents in a safe place: such things are easy and useful to have as a standby for potential emergencies.

The Dutch, Swedish, Finnish and Danish governments have already rolled out versions of this campaign, as part of a wider programme referred to as the “EU preparedness union strategy”. This programme aims to boost member states’ civil and military preparedness for potential crises – geopolitical conflicts, cybersecurity crises and the increased risk of natural hazards as a result of a worsening climate crisis.

Despite ever-present talk of a........

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