Ireland’s new public warning text system delayed by a year amid criticisms

A new public warning message system costing nearly €1m could be delayed by up to a year and will not be rolled out until December 2025, the Irish Mirror has learned.

It was expected that the Public Warning System would be in place from the end of 2024. However, it has already been criticised for not going far enough following confirmation from Communications Minister Eamon Ryan that they will only be used in the “most exceptional of circumstances”.

Ireland is one of a handful of countries in the European Union that has yet to roll out the system or start its implementation. Several countries have already started notifying the public of major disasters and imminent or ongoing emergencies via SMS and an accompanying alarm. These alarms ring even when the phone is on silent.

The UK’s Emergency Alerts service, which warns of danger to life nearby such as severe flooding, fires and extreme weather, works in Northern Ireland. When the system was being tested in April 2023, the Irish Government advised that our system would be “operational in late 2024”. However, it has now emerged that it has been delayed by a year.

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In response to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin TD Sorca Clarke, Minister Ryan confirmed that Ireland put a mobile phone-based emergency public warning text system in place, as required under EU law, in November 2023.

“The Public Warning System (PWS) enables mobile phone operators to send texts to the public, on behalf of the Government, giving information on developments in the event of a major emergency or disaster,” he said.

“The PWS will be activated only in the most exceptional of circumstances, where there is a major emergency or disaster which poses a significant and imminent threat to human life.”

Mr Ryan confirmed that the Government intends to establish a “cell broadcast system, similar to that used in some other European member states” for transmitting public warning messages.

“It is anticipated that the new system will be operational in December 2025, subject to procurement timelines,” he added.

The project opened to tenders in April, with applications for the €850,000 project closing two weeks ago.

Deputy Clarke told the Irish Mirror that she was concerned that the Public Warning System as outlined by Minister Ryan did not go far enough.

She said: “It is disappointing that the government response only commits to using this system during ‘the most exceptional of circumstances, where there is a major emergency or disaster which poses a significant and imminent threat to human life’.

“This Public Warning System should be a priority for areas affected by flooding. In recent years we have seen people’s homes, property, farms and businesses destroyed by flooding where flash flooding effectively washed away roads. Extremely dangerous situations arose very quickly.

“The aftermath of such is still being felt in many parts of the Midlands. People who live in these areas and emergency services crews should benefit from early warning systems. The technology is there to do this, it is already in operation in other countries and has proven to be effective.”

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