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

Yes, absolutely. The Minister said in 2008 Civil Defence funding was approximately €6.8 million and it is down to €4.24 million this year. That would suggest a cut of approximately one third but the Minister suggests those figures do not give the full facts. Maybe we will tease that through. The Civil Defence came back under the remit of the Department of Defence in recent times, which was supported by all Members of the House at that time as a sensible enough move. The concern was that there would be an impact on training and resources going into those areas. Will the Minister engage with the Civil Defence Officers Association, the representative association? There is concern round the replacement of vehicles. They have different issues. I ask the Minister to make arrangements to meet that association in the near future if he has not done so recently to tease through the issues.

It is not enough for us in this House to thank them collectively. The people involved as volunteers in the Civil Defence or the Reserve Defence Force represent all that is best about being Irish. All of us in this House feel that, but it is not enough to say that to them.

We need to give them the vehicles, training and requisite supports they require. Will the Minister assure me that the budget figures are not as bad as they first appeared and meet Civil Defence representatives to establish what their needs are?

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