Mr. Bill Smith:

I attended the meeting of the crisis management team to which Senator Conway referred. The response was well co-ordinated. Civil Defence has been used - we are more than happy for this to happen - as a means of young people gaining experience in civil defence and then moving on to membership of the Garda Síochána, the fire service or HSE. This is happening all the time in Civil Defence. While we do not have a direct relationship with the Garda Reserve, similar to it, people use Civil Defence as a stepping stone to joining the Garda Síochána.