Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. The volunteers of Westmeath Civil Defence asked me a number of weeks ago to visit the facility at Culleen Beg. It would be an understatement to say that I was shocked to see the disgraceful facilities in which Westmeath Civil Defence is operating. The White Paper on Defence, which has been mentioned, clarifies the demarcation lines and provides that the capital budget must be provided for within the local authority. The Government cannot stand by and allow this to continue. We have to shout "Stop". We should contact the local authority morning, noon and night in order to ensure that its puts a plan in place by January at the latest. I note what the Minister of State said about the Department's ongoing dealings with Westmeath County Council in respect of Columb Barracks in Mullingar. I think every avenue should be explored. We need a plan. We cannot go forward after January with option after option. I could not tolerate that. We need action in this case.

Councillor Andrew Duncan has been driving this matter very hard within Westmeath County Council. I mentioned the motion he has tabled. He is trying to get a clear plan in place. This problem has existed since 2007. It is not good enough that the local authority is not making progress with this more quickly. We need to ensure that it is resolved. When Councillor Tom Farrell and I met the Minister of State, we showed him a number of photographs of the facility. There is no way we can expect volunteers to operate in such shocking conditions. If we continue like this, we will find one day that there are no volunteers. If we respect people, we should treat them with dignity rather than expecting them to operate in a facility of this standard. I guarantee the Minister of State and the people of County Westmeath that I will follow up this issue to the best of my ability.

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