Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am always happy to meet people where it is appropriate to do so. I will have no difficulty in meeting Civil Defence members and it is unnecessary to raise that issue in the House as a question.

As I mentioned previously, the apparent major reduction in funding, between 2012 and 2013, was simply a reflection of the abolition of the Civil Defence board. Many of the costs of Civil Defence such as the salaries of those working in Civil Defence headquarters and the training college were transferred from the former Civil Defence board to the Department of Defence. This had no impact on day-to-day Civil Defence activities throughout the country. Effectively, a portion of the moneys which formerly had been allocated to Civil Defence to meet various expenditure items is now part of the general expenditure of the Department of Defence. Therefore, there has not been a dramatic reduction in the budget, which is why I explained the figures in the way I did.

It is important to have regard also to matters relating to funding because not all of the funding provided for Civil Defence comes from the Central Fund. Civil Defence units throughout the country operate under the control of Civil Defence officers, CDOs. The CDO is a full-time employee of the local authority and activities are funded through a combination of the central grant from my Department and direct funding from the local authority. The central grant is normally approximately 70% of the expenditure on Civil Defence in the local authority area. As well as grant aid, the Department provides other supports for local Civil Defence units. For example, we provide for central training through the Civil Defence college in Roscrea. The Department also provides vehicles, uniforms and a wide range of equipment. If issues in regard to equipment are a cause of concern, I will be happy to discuss them. It is important that it is understood additional assistance is provided by local authorities for individual Civil Defence units across the country. Therefore, the financial figures I have provided do not give true and total visibility to the funding provided.

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