Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank both Deputies for their contributions. I will deal first with amendment No. 1 from Deputy Mac Lochlainn. I do not propose to accept this amendment. It is not intended to put the forum on a statutory basis as I do not want to abolish one body and simply create another, thereby diluting the Government's policy of reducing the number of State agencies and boards. That policy is proposed in the programme for Government. I can assure the Deputy that the Civil Defence will still operate in the same manner as it has previously. Even before the Bill was published, I indicated that it was my intention after the dissolution of the board to establish a forum to harness the collective focus of the key stakeholders in the wider field of emergency planning for the benefit of the Civil Defence and the branch of my Department which will be charged with the future management and development of the organisation at national level.

It is also intended that the civil defence forum will be a non-statutory consultative body, which will be as flexible as possible in its operations and will be able to consult widely as required. The majority of the parties listed in the proposed amendment will be represented on the forum.

There will further scope for the remainder and, indeed, other statutory and non-statutory bodies to be included where matters of particular interest are being discussed. It is important for the forum to retain the maximum level of flexibility in its operations and I am therefore strongly of the view that it would be hampered by having specific provisions relating to its composition enshrined in the legislation. I hope the Deputy understands where I am coming from on that.

The purpose of the forum will be to provide advice as required and to provide a structure for stakeholders to interact with the Civil Defence branch within the Department. The forum is intended to operate at a strategic level on defence matters and wider developments in the area of emergency response and other issues that might impact on civil defence.

Membership of the forum will comprise nominated representative bodies such as the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, An Garda Síochána, the HSE, the City and County Managers Association, the Civil Defence Officers' Association, and a representative from the Civil Defence volunteer body. That encompasses everyone involved in the civil defence movement to represent the views of everybody on the board. I hope the Deputy will acknowledge the reasons why I am not accepting his amendment on this occasion.

I also do not propose to accept amendment No. 2, in the name of Deputy Ó Fearghaíl. Section 12 allows for the Minister to determine the format and content of a civil defence plan submitted by a local authority for consideration. Nothing in this section or in the Bill precludes the Minister, if he or she considers it necessary, from consulting with external bodies or agencies both before and after plans are submitted by local authorities. We all understand the importance of a civil defence plan, as Deputy Ó Fearghaíl has outlined. The civil defence plan submitted by a local authority will already have been approved by the relevant city and county manager. The civil defence officer will have been part of the management team that prepared the plan at local level.

A civil defence plan will be unique to each individual authority. The provisions of the Bill, which are similar to those in the 2002 Act, will allow for further consultation with authorities on their plans, if considered necessary.

One of the purposes of the Bill for the civil defence branch of the Department is to get back to devoting more resources to deal with the real business of civil defence which is emergency preparedness and the development and implementation of training programmes for volunteers, so that the organisation can deliver effective support to the front-line emergency services and continue with its community support activities. As a small stand-alone State body, the board was constrained by the same level of governance that related to obligations as would be required of a much larger organisation. As a part of a Department that burden will be considerably reduced, thereby allowing more time for strengthening the network and the relationship with stakeholders such as local authorities that the Civil Defence has developed at national level over the years, and also with other key players in the wider area of emergency planning.

Both Deputies have outlined the importance of the Civil Defence. I can assure them that the Department will operate with the same vigour as the board did to ensure that the Civil Defence runs a smooth operation as well as highlighting the importance of civil defence in every village, town and city across the country.

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