Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

According to the former President of the United States of America, Mr. Bill Clinton, "Volunteering is an act of heroism on a grand scale. And it matters profoundly. It does more than help people beat the odds; it changes the odds." I am of the view that this statement is acutely true when it comes to the work of the Civil Defence. The Civil Defence has many functions including search and rescue, the provision of auxiliary fire services and radiation monitoring. I am very much aware of the fantastic work performed by Dublin Civil Defence volunteers, particularly those in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area.

The work of the Civil Defence, especially during periods of flooding, has been immense. Beginning in the early hours, on Thursday, 2 July last, a total of 59 Civil Defence personnel were involved in flood relief activity in Dublin. Some 18 people were evacuated from Sherrard Street in Dublin's city centre by An Garda Síochána and accommodated at the Dublin Civil Defence emergency accommodation centre. An emergency rescue vehicle distributed approximately 100 sandbags to 23 houses in the Sandymount area. Civil Defence fire crews were on standby at Swords, Blanchardstown, Nutgrove-Rathfarnham and Dún Laoghaire, with further crews operating from Civil Defence headquarters. The Civil Defence casualty service was also on stand-by at Malahide, Dún Laoghaire and Mount Argus. The professionalism and care displayed by the Civil Defence on the date to which I refer was extremely impressive and it made me realise the importance of the organisation. No one would disagree that the people who work in our emergency services are heroic individuals. I agree with Deputy Ó Fearghaíl that Civil Defence volunteers are local heroes.

The Bill provides for the dissolution of the Civil Defence Board and for the transfer of its functions and other responsibilities back to the Department of Defence. I thank all those who served on the Civil Defence Board and its various committees. I welcome the Minister of State's commitment to maintain the current level of funding for the Civil Defence at €5.585 million per annum. The programme for Government contains a commitment to reduce the number of State bodies and the Bill is proof of the Government's action in this regard. Shortly after taking up office, the Minister, Deputy Shatter, decided that the functions of the Civil Defence Board should be transferred back into the Department of Defence. The Bill gives legislative effect to that decision.

Progress is being made in the context of reducing the number of State agencies. In that context, significant streamlining is taking place in the Department of Education and Skills. The amalgamation of 33 VECs into 16 educational training boards will reduce the number of State agencies by 17. Some ten agencies under the remit of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government are being dissolved. Six public bodies under the remit of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport have been either merged or restructured. This includes the merger of Dublin Tourism and Fáilte Ireland. The number of agencies which come under the remit of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has been reduced by four, with review pending in respect of a number of others. Three bodies which come within the remit of the Department of Health have been dissolved or merged. Similar work is under way in other Government Departments. Other reforms, including the merger of the National Qualifications Authority, FETAC and HETAC into a single body, are in train. During the next three years, the Government will continue to rationalise and restructure agencies and ensure that value for money is obtained for the taxpayer.

The Minister for Defence, Deputy Shatter, has guaranteed that the dissolution of the Civil Defence Board will not have a negative knock-on effect in respect of the Civil Defence. At the end of 2011 he gave a commitment to the effect that "The proposed transfer of functions will result in verifiable savings and will allow management to develop the provision of training support, which is a key demand in a voluntary organisation like Civil Defence rather than duplicating the corporate governance of the Department." As a result of the downturn in our economy and the commitment that was made by the previous Government to the troika, streamlining must occur, savings must be made and rationalisation of agencies must take place. These things will continue to happen. I endorse the measures contained in the Bill.

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