Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 7, after line 43, to insert the following:

“13.—The Minister shall ensure that each local authority is resourced accordingly in order to fulfil its civil defence plans as set out in section 12.”.

While I spoke to this amendment earlier, I will reiterate that it concerns the issue of resources about which I seek some reassurance. To repeat the point, if one considers the existing framework, the Civil Defence Board has a set of criteria whereby on receiving a plan from a local authority, the resources are then allocated. Such criteria no longer appear to be in place for the Minister and the Department. I am a little concerned that in the years to come, this may provide freedom to wind down the resources for the Civil Defence and consequently I seek reassurance that, in particular, this new arrangement will mean that local authorities and Civil Defence members will continue to have the necessary resources for training.

See this speech in context