Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of the Civil Defence Bill 2023 is to modernise the existing legislation relating to Civil Defence matters, which is contained within the Air-Raid Precautions Acts 1939 and 1946 and the Civil Defence Act 2012. Sinn Féin supports the intention of the Bill, which seeks to introduce a newer, more rounded version of multiple pieces of legislation, some of which dates back, as I said, to 1939.

Civil Defence was established in 1951 and falls under the responsibility of the Department of Defence. It has played a hugely important role in modern society. It is a statutory, volunteer-based organisation which is organised at local authority level.

The nearest Civil Defence location in my area, Dublin Mid-West, is based on the Belgard Road, at the auxiliary fire service centre. In my area of Clondalkin we have a number of very active members of Civil Defence. At this point I thank Paul, Paul Jnr., Linda, Michelle and all the other local volunteers for the vital contribution they make to our community and society in general. These members give of their time voluntarily. During the Covid restrictions, as already said, Civil Defence members were front and centre in the State's response to the pandemic. They often manned vaccination centres and testing centres at great personal risk to themselves. At the time we did not know what Covid would bring. These lads went into those centres on a purely voluntary basis and did not know what would come in front of them but they did that anyway. They put the common good before themselves. When Covid measures were lifted and other organisations and front-line workers received the pandemic bonus payment, Civil Defence members were excluded from that. They were given a medal, which was very well received and worthwhile, and a round of applause. That is what they have said to me. We owe them much more than that, and I would be happy to hear the Tánaiste's thoughts as to what recognition he thinks is appropriate.

One of the local members I know very well is a man called Paul Morgan Snr. Paul is stationed in the headquarters on Wolfe Tone Quay, Dublin. He has been a member of Civil Defence for the past 15 years. Prior to that he was in An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil, FCA, in the Defence Forces, based at Cathal Brugha Barracks. I got to know Paul as my father is a retired member of the 20th battalion in Cathal Brugha Barracks and was attached to the FCA, so I got to know the FCA lads over the years through my father. Many of them have gone on to work in Civil Defence. People like Paul and other members have given a lifetime of voluntary service to the State. Over the years I have seen Paul and others like him volunteering at events across the county, including soccer matches at Tallaght Stadium. I even remember when I ran the marathon in 2018 and was struggling on the last couple of kilometres that a couple of the Civil Defence lads I knew were on the sideline. I would not say they were cheering me on - they were having a bit of a laugh - but it was all good-natured. Without those people there, there was no way any of those thousands of participants would have been able to take pace in that marathon. The St. Patrick's Day parade is coming up and, again, without the Civil Defence workers there, with the first aid and security services they provide, it would not be able to go ahead. I wanted to mention that because often that work goes unnoticed as the people are out enjoying themselves, rightly so, on our national day.

Also, Civil Defence members are proactive in bringing solutions to gaps in services in our community. I will bring Paul's son, Paul Jnr., into this. He is researching putting in place a community first responder group for the Clondalkin, Lucan and Palmerstown area. A first responder is a person trained in basic life support and the use of a defibrillator who attends actually or potentially life-threatening emergencies and is dispatched by the National Ambulance Service. Paul is seeking the support of South Dublin County Council to find suitable locations to host defibrillators. I have brought this up in the Chamber before. It is vital that any and all supports are given to Paul so he can provide this literally life-saving service. Again, all this is on a voluntary basis.

It has also been brought to my attention that Civil Defence recently received funding through the Dormant Accounts Fund. That is very welcome because it will help upgrade its fleet of vehicles, but much more is needed, as was said, as regards funding for training for its members so they can upskill and keep providing the service we have.

As I said, Sinn Féin roundly supports the intention of the Bill, but we should recognise Civil Defence and its local volunteers for the service they provide to the State a lot better than we do.

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