Mr. Niall Twomey:

I will add to what Mr. Conroy has said. In recent years, each unit has streamlined its numbers because of mandatory training requirements for volunteers. Previously we may have had between 90 and 100 volunteers on the books in west Cork, but currently we have 60 active and committed members. That is reflected all over the country too. That is why there may be a slight overall reduction in overall national volunteer members.

I will address Senator Craughwell's original question about duplication of effort between the Civil Defence and the Irish Coast Guard. I am currently the chairperson of the voluntary emergency services for the Cork-Kerry region. I see at close hand the skills and capabilities of the Civil Defence, the Irish Coast Guard, the Red Cross, Kerry Mountain Rescue, the search dogs and the various voluntary agencies. Each one brings its own niche skill. When it comes to a missing person search, all of those work and blend well together. Each of those voluntary agencies has its own core identity. It works well at the moment, so I would not see any great requirement to bring those organisations under one umbrella. There are eight major emergency management regions nationally, and good co-ordination takes place in those areas.

On Deputy Berry's question, I agree that it would be worthwhile to develop a specific leadership module for Civil Defence volunteers. What we do with our volunteers is provide professional and personal development. The professional development comes from the medical, search and other qualifications they receive. I refer, for example, to swift water training. We can also provide personal development. We can develop people to make good decisions as leaders in challenging situations, to improve planning and preparation, and to channel their operational experience for the benefit of the organisation as a whole.

To answer another question asked by Deputy Berry, there is no overall national Civil Defence commander at the moment. There is a discussion to be had about the benefit of having an operations manager at national level. Currently, the Civil Defence branch in Roscrea does an excellent job in finance, training, policy and the technical and communications side. However, there is a gap there. We have gained experience from all of our different operations in recent years, including our searches, our work in severe weather, our dealings with Ukrainian refugees and our Covid experience. An individual with the right experience could co-ordinate efforts across the major emergency management regions and identify marginal gains to improve the Civil Defence overall as an organisation.