Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move: “That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to present this Bill to the House. The purposes of this relatively short but important Bill is to modernise and reform the current legislative basis for the Civil Defence organisation. There is a requirement to do this as the existing regulatory framework, consisting of enactments dating from 1939 to 2012, no longer provides a comprehensive statutory basis for civil defence matters.

I welcome the opportunity afforded by this debate to acknowledge and to pay a warm tribute to the Civil Defence organisation and, in particular, the local Civil Defence volunteers who are based in every county in the State. As the House will be aware, Civil Defence volunteers have a proud tradition of supporting the principal response agencies in dealing with a wide variety of emergency situations such as severe weather and searching for missing persons. Civil Defence volunteers also support community events every week. In recent years, Civil Defence has played an integral role in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the provision of support to Ukrainians seeking protection in Ireland. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Civil Defence volunteers provided significant support within their communities in every county across the State. Approximately 9,500 tasks were undertaken by Civil Defence volunteers during this period in support of the local authorities, the HSE and An Garda Síochána.

In recognition of the role played by Civil Defence volunteers during the pandemic, a specially designed medal was commissioned for the almost 1,500 members involved in supporting the national response to Covid-19. Deputies may recall the recent event held in Croke Park on the 29 November last year at which medals were presented to a large number of volunteers from all around the State.

Since March 2022, Civil Defence units have been actively involved in supporting Ukrainians seeking protection in Ireland. This has included setting up and operating temporary rest centres. Volunteers have also transported Ukrainians to and from their accommodation and to meetings for school registration, medical appointments and so on.

These are just some examples of the invaluable support provided by Civil Defence volunteers on an ongoing basis to local communities throughout the State. The commitment to volunteering, which is integral to the successful operation of Civil Defence, is a clear demonstration of the very best in Irish society.

The purpose of the Bill, as I mentioned, is to replace the current suite of legislation relating to the Civil Defence, which comprises the Air-Raid Precautions Acts 1939 to 1946 and the Civil Defence Act 2012, with a comprehensive and updated Civil Defence Act.

Civil Defence, which was established in 1951, is a State-funded, volunteer-based organisation with a nationwide footprint supporting the principal response agencies, as well as local communities. Over the years, Civil Defence has operated in accordance with the provisions of the Air-Raid Precautions Acts, 1939 to 1946. Although Civil Defence Bills were enacted in 2002 and 2012, there has been no comprehensive updating of civil defence legislation to replace the Air-Raid Precautions Acts. These enactments dating back to the late 1930s and the 1940s were framed in a very different era and are no longer adequate for the ongoing and future development of Civil Defence.

The White Paper on Defence 2015 included a commitment to replace existing legislation concerning Civil Defence with a more modern aggregated legislative basis. The White Paper also stated that the future of Civil Defence will continue to be developed around its central strategic objective of supporting the principal response agencies, namely An Garda Síochána, the Health Service Executive and local authorities, in a variety of emergency and non-emergency situations.

A policy document Civil Defence - Towards 2030 published by the Department in 2020 sets out the core roles and services of Civil Defence. Towards 2030 emphasised the volunteer ethos of the Civil Defence organisation. The preparation of the policy document involved consultation with all stakeholders including Civil Defence officers, Civil Defence volunteers, the Civil Defence interagency guidance team, and the principal response agencies, including local authorities who are responsible for the day-to-day management of Civil Defence.

The Bill, therefore, follows on from the commitment in the White Paper on Defence regarding the preparation of revised Civil Defence legislation and from the publication in 2020 of Civil Defence - Towards 2030. It is important to note that, although the Bill does not set out any major departures from existing policy, the new legislation ensures that there is a comprehensive legislative basis for the operation of Civil Defence.

The Bill reaffirms the continuing role at a national level of the Department of Defence in managing and developing the overall strategies and policies regarding Civil Defence matters and sets out the ongoing responsibility of the local authorities for operational matters such as the recruitment of volunteers and the delivery of Civil Defence services.

The legislation, therefore, builds on the long-standing and successful model whereby local authorities manage the local operations of Civil Defence with the support at a central government level of the Department of Defence. Within the Department, the Civil Defence branch, which has been based for many years in Roscrea, is responsible for civil defence matters, including the training of instructors who deliver training courses for Civil Defence volunteers around the country.

As regards financial matters, I can confirm that the long-standing funding model for the Civil Defence whereby funding is provided by both the Department of Defence and local authorities will remain unchanged under this legislation. During 2022, €3.6 million in grant funding was provided by my Department to the 28 local authority Civil Defence units.

Under the pre-legislative scrutiny process, the general scheme of this Bill was referred to the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence. As part of this process, my officials made a presentation to the committee regarding the draft legislative proposals. There was also constructive engagement and discussion between committee members and my officials on the proposed Bill. Following the presentation, the committee agreed that it would not undertake further pre-legislative scrutiny on the Bill.

I will now outline briefly the main provisions of the Bill. Section I contains definitions. It is a standard section that provides definitions for key terms used in the Bill.

Section 2, which relates to functions of Minister relating to civil defence, sets out the responsibility of the Minister for Defence for the overall policies and strategies relating to civil defence. The section also makes provision for the Minister to undertake a range of general functions relating to civil defence, including the provision of various services in support of local authorities. The section also sets out the requirement for local authorities to comply with any directions concerning civil defence matters issued by the Minister under this legislation.

Section 3 relates to the provision within specified time limits of information by a local authority to the Minister for Defence concerning civil defence matters.

Section 4 relates to the establishment by each local authority of a dedicated Civil Defence unit for the purpose of providing civil defence services in the administrative area of that local authority. The section includes provisions enabling a local authority to make arrangements concerning the establishment of a joint Civil Defence unit with one or more other local authorities, as is the case, for example, in Dublin, for the purposes of providing shared civil defence services in the administrative areas of the local authorities. Any such arrangement shall be subject to the consent of the Minister for Defence. Essentially, this section provides in an updated manner for the continuation of the existing arrangements as they relate to the operation of Civil Defence units at local authority level.

Section 5 relates to the employment by local authorities of Civil defence officers. The role of Civil Defence officers is important as they manage the operation of civil defence at a local authority level, including the registration, training and management of Civil Defence volunteers. The section also includes necessary provisions concerning the numbers of Civil Defence officers employed by each local authority and their terms and conditions.

Section 6 relates to the appointment of persons as Civil Defence volunteers by local authorities. The section sets out that the Minister may give directions to local authorities concerning Civil Defence volunteers. These directions include: the persons eligible to be a Civil Defence volunteer; how applications to be a Civil Defence volunteer should be made; the requirement on applicants to undergo vetting by the National Vetting Bureau; mandatory conditions that will apply to a Civil Defence volunteer, including conditions concerning training, attendance and adherence to any Civil Defence code of practice that may be in place.

Section 7 provides for the mandatory establishment by each local authority of a register of persons serving as Civil Defence volunteers in that local authority area. The intention is that the register will be maintained in an electronic form. Currently, local authorities are required to maintain a similar register under the Civil Defence Act. Any such register currently maintained by local authorities shall be deemed to be the register for the purpose of this Act. On the commencement of the legislation, the title of the exiting register will change from the "Register of Civil Defence Members" to the "Register of Civil Defence Volunteers" so as to more appropriately reflect the voluntary nature of civil defence. The electronic register of Civil Defence volunteers will be maintained by local authorities and will include a range of information as specified in the section.

Care has been taken during the preparation of this section to reaffirm that any personal data held on the register is stored and processed subject to compliance with data protection legislation. Access to the information in the register will be strictly limited to persons specified in the legislation. The section also provides that a volunteer can inspect the register in respect of their personal information and, if necessary, seek to have any errors corrected. Data entered on the register shall only be retained for as long as necessary and in accordance with data protection legislation. In that regard, a number of legislative safeguards are included in the section to ensure full compliance with data protection requirements. In line with the provisions of section 84(12) of the Data Protection Act 2018, consultation took place with the Data Protection Commission regarding the provisions in the legislation concerning the processing of personal data held on the register.

Section 8 updates existing provisions concerning the preparation by local authorities of civil defence plans. A civil defence plan sets out the key objectives and strategies of a local authority in the operation of the Civil Defence in the local authority area. The plan will be reviewed and, if necessary, updated at least every three years and the Minister may direct a local authority to make specific amendments to the plan. Under the new legislation, a local authority will be obliged to publish the civil defence plan once it has been approved by the Minister for Defence.

Section 9 restates in an updated form the long-standing arrangements under which the Minister for Defence provides grant funding to local authorities in support of civil defence activities. The funding provided shall not exceed in a year a maximum of 70% of civil defence expenditure, unless prior approval is received from the Minister by a local authority. The section also provides that a local authority may, with the approval of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, incur expenses relating to civil defence.

Section 10 relates to the making by the Minister for Defence of regulations concerning codes of practice for Civil Defence volunteers. A code of practice made under this section may set out matters such as: procedures relating to the suspension and revocation by local authorities of the registration of persons as Civil Defence volunteers; grievance and disciplinary procedures for Civil Defence volunteers; and the standards of conduct and integrity for Civil Defence volunteers in carrying out their duties.

Section 11 is a standard provision providing that expenses incurred will be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Section 12 is another standard section concerning the making of regulations.

Section 13 provides for the repeal of the Air Raid Precautions Acts 1939 and 1946 and the Civil Defence Act 2012. I mentioned earlier that these enactments comprise the existing suite of legislation concerning civil defence matters and they are being replaced with this modern piece of legislation.

Section 14 provides for a number of necessary transitional provisions which are required as the existing enactments relating to civil defence are being repealed.

Finally, section 15 is a standard provision that deals with the Short Title as well as arrangements for the commencement of the legislation. In summary, while this is a relatively short Bill, it is necessary to better support the important work of the Civil Defence and the almost 2,700 Civil Defence volunteers. There will be an opportunity on Committee Stage for a more detailed discussion on this legislation. The implementation of this legislation will provide the Civil Defence with the necessary legislative basis to operate effectively and to continue to serve communities across the country. I am pleased to submit this legislation for the consideration of the House. I commend it to the House.

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