Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the role of the Civil Defence and its work. It is appropriate to acknowledge the work of our late colleague Séamus Brennan, who introduced the 2000 Bill and whose vision for civil defence has resulted in the organisation we know today. The teams of volunteers and staff around the country work in partnership with the relevant local authorities. They have expanded the role and the public profile of the organisation to become a front-line community response to crises and a supporting resource for local festivals and events. The organisation is embedded in the community and this relationship must be retained when the Civil Defence is returned to the Department. The work of the past decade will be for naught if the link with the community is lost. I hope that in the construction of the new board there will be a means of measuring the strength of that link.

The occurrence of bizarre weather events in the recent past, such as flooding and heavy snowfalls, has demonstrated that the Civil Defence operates effectively and in a timely manner. The organisation is locally based and managed. It is hoped the response time element will be retained so that the organisation can continue to mobilise its forces in the community as efficiently as possible. Volunteers can respond to any event in the community within hours. This is possible because of the local command structure in the organisation. Deputy Feighan noted the nationwide co-ordination aspect of the organisation. We must ensure this immediate response to community situations is retained in the new structure. I welcome the guarantee that the budgetary arrangements for the service will be maintained. We must ensure that operations and activities account for the bulk of the expenditure rather than administrative functions. Will the involvement of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland and the Environmental Protection Agency with the Civil Defence organisation be maintained and developed?

The Civil Defence Officers' Association is represented on the Civil Defence Board. The association has a strategic input into the running of the organisation. This input needs to be formalised to allow for some form of representation of Civil Defence officers on the new board. The Civil Defence is a volunteer organisation and this is the basis of its community focus. These volunteers need to be represented on the new board to ensure their input is central to the development of the new structure and the ongoing development of civil defence. There would be no Civil Defence without the volunteers.

That must always be kept in mind.

Recently at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, the chairman of the board of the Civil Defence referred to the creation of a very informal forum. His view on the forum is that it would liaise with and consult interested parties. Has the Government given that any thought? Could it formalise the forum to have a required amount of consultation annually or biannually with the various stakeholders in the Civil Defence, who represent community and local authority interests and those involved in emergency planning and services?

I welcome the fact that the Government is retaining the headquarters and keeping the Civil Defence function somewhat separate from the functions of the rest of the Department. Although the Civil Defence falls within the remit of the Department, it is important that it retain as much autonomy as possible. It is its own unique community-led organisation. I welcome the fact that the offices will be retained in Roscrea.

It should be recognised that the Western Brigade of the Defence Forces will be stood down this weekend. This will end a fantastic link with the west dating from before the foundation of the State. I thank all those who served in the Western Brigade. It is unfortunate that its identity has now been lost. I understand it will be stood down tomorrow evening.

The Civil Defence has considerable opportunities in terms of involving and engaging with communities and attracting more volunteers. It should become involved with schools, displaying its work and equipment and engaging with transition year students to get them involved at an early age in civil defence, obviously in low-level operations.

We need communities that do not traditionally become involved in civil defence to know that they can become involved. Part of the budget should be devoted to promoting participation and recruitment. There are many individuals with skills who now, because of the economic circumstances, have time to participate. Their skills could be maintained and developed to the benefit of the community. I encourage the Minister to engage with the new board on promoting the Civil Defence as an outlet for one's skills and talents.

In the past 12 years in Mayo, the Civil Defence has developed phenomenally. It plays an active and intense role in responding to floods and bad weather conditions, and on unfortunate and tragic occasions it leads the way in search-and-rescue missions, often at short notice and in very difficult circumstances. We all owe the volunteers a great debt of gratitude. I hope the new design, while well intended, will not fall short in the implementation. We have a superb organisation; let us not damage it in the implementation of the plans for the new structure.

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