The Irish Centre for Emergency Management was established to provide a unique facility supporting modern emergency planning. The centre covers each phase of the internationally approved major emergency paradigm. It has an all hazards approach and endorses agreed interagency mechanisms. It provides a benchmark for emergency planning, training and exercises and plans audit. It carries out research across the full spectrum of emergency management, risk analysis planning and response. In PANACEA, it brought expertise and highly-qualified staff in medical emergency planning and management to the design, configuration and validation of the tools developed around a core set of use cases.