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

It is good to receive reassurance that the figures are not as stark as they first appeared. However, will the Minister invite Civil Defence representatives to discuss this issue? I have no doubt that he was sincere in his praise of Civil Defence and we all feel the same about it. Will he make contact with the organisation to invite its representatives to meet him to outline deficiencies in what they require in terms of training or vehicles? He may not be able to solve every problem but meeting the representatives would be a good gesture, particularly following the activities in which they have been involved in recent times. They have been helping communities throughout the recent weather crisis. The Minister should try to engage with them in the next month or so to tease out the issues. Many voluntary organisations do not want to shout and scream for help as they see this as political. I suggest the Minister invite them to come and thank them for the work they have done and see what more can be done to assist them. I urge him to do this.

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