Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

At the Cabinet meeting on 12 July the Government approved a proposal to begin drafting legislation to transfer the functions of the Civil Defence Board back into the Department of Defence. The Heads of the Civil Defence (Repeal) Bill were subsequently agreed by Government on 30 August last. The Bill is currently being drafted and it is anticipated it will be published in early 2012.

If enacted, the Bill will repeal the Civil Defence Act 2002, dissolve the Civil Defence Board and transfer its functions, property, rights, liabilities and other responsibilities to the Department of Defence. Such changes will not have any impact on Civil Defence operations nationally and Civil Defence will continue to operate from Roscrea but will do so as a branch of the Department of Defence.

There have been consultations recently between officials from my Department and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The importance of the vital role in emergency response played by some 4,000 Civil Defence volunteers nationally cannot be underestimated.

As recently as Monday evening last, large numbers of volunteers responded to the major flooding incident that occurred along the east coast. At 6.30 p.m. on Monday evening, a Civil Defence evacuation centre was established at Dublin Civil Defence headquarters on Wolfe Tone Quay and more than 100 volunteers were called into action during the course of that night. The response also included the provision of a catering unit, ten fire tenders, two water pumps, and eight ambulances, two of which were equipped with four-wheel drive. A total of six families were accommodated during the night before later being transported back to relatives. Civil Defence also set up an evacuation centre in Marino.

Using high sided vehicles, Civil Defence volunteers also evacuated people from the East Wall Road and Ballsbridge areas to local hotels. Volunteers also transported nurses and staff to and from Our Lady's Hospice in Harold's Cross and Crumlin children's hospital. Volunteers also towed a number of cars out of flood water to prevent obstruction and filled sandbags in a number of areas badly affected throughout the city. These operations continued until after 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Operations in Dublin resumed again yesterday evening when 50 volunteers were deployed until midnight in Howth, Clondalkin and Dundrum and were mainly involved in pumping flood waters from underground car parks.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

In County Kildare, 18 volunteers and four, four-wheel drive vehicles were deployed from 6.30 p.m. on Monday evening until 1 a.m. Tuesday morning. Assistance was provided to the Garda Síochána with traffic control on the N7, and to the local fire service in providing sandbags for a housing estate in Johnstown.

In County Wicklow, 50 volunteers, three flood response vehicles, an ambulance and a minibus were deployed on Monday as Civil Defence responded to calls for sandbags and other duties all over the county. Volunteers assisted Wicklow County Council's planned evacuation of 500 houses in Bray - which, thankfully, did not have to be carried out as water levels receded. Civil Defence also provided a boat and volunteers to assist in the search for missing Garda Ciaran Jones, who sadly lost his life in tragic circumstances.

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