John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill and acknowledge the huge amount of work the Civil Defence undertakes and has undertaken since 1951. It is a significant organisation in those counties that have been fortunate to have volunteers organised through the Civil Defence. I would not miss the opportunity in the debate on this Bill to pay tribute to all of those involved in the Civil Defence in Kilkenny and the work they do. It is an active organisation at county level with 42 active members, a number of whom are young. The interesting thing about the membership is that they tend to get along in the organisation. They complete all their courses and carry all of those certifications on courses with them. Then they get involved in the fire services, for example, and some of them have gone on to be paramedics and so on. Each of these individuals has a strong interest in moving on, not just through the Civil Defence but also by becoming engaged in other organisations.

My local Civil Defence organisation was challenged in 2016 because it lost all of its equipment in a fire. It rented a premises and it currently uses two different locations, one to store the equipment and one to train. It recovered from that 2016 tragedy and rebuilt the organisation. Katherine Peacock, who spent four years there, did an excellent job in that. Engagement with the local authority, the Garda and the Defence Forces is key. The volunteers bring great experience to the task in hand. Some 70% of the Civil Defence's funding comes from the Department of Defence and 30% comes from the local authority.

I raise the need for a purpose-built headquarters for the Civil Defence in Kilkenny where it can store all of its equipment and continue to train on-site all the volunteers who wish to become involved.

They now have 15 vehicles, and they have a number of boats that can be used, both on the river and at sea. It is not an easy task when you go to recover a body and you have to be skilled and trained for that. I have seen them at first hand on the River Nore doing a considerable amount of work in this area. Search and rescue is part and parcel of what they do. I am aware that the college for the Department of Defence provides the courses but those who are involved in Kilkenny continue to train onsite and to be offered the help and guidance that they need to progress.

The Dormant Account Fund was important for the organisation too - I am aware that Kilkenny got some funding through that fund - and the HSE donates it ambulances. An ambulance can cost up to €50,000 but the HSE donates them to the Civil Defence.

All in all, when one packages it together one has 42 volunteers, who are skilled, who are trained and who are central in communities and who can react to any sort of issue that they are asked to deal with.

During Covid, they were particularly helpful. Indeed, as the Ukrainian families arrived, they were to the fore in assisting them to settle in to their accommodation and at times to move them from one accommodation to another. They are professional in their approach in relation to all of these actions.

However, like many volunteers, I would say they are exhausted. I spoke today to Ms Michelle Colclough in relation to this. They have given so much of their own time, and on top of that they have families and they have their own jobs etc. to go to. We should recognise that in some way.

I am aware that the organisations, on a social level, tend to give time to having an event whereby they can recognise the work that they did, their achievements etc. but the Government should recognise it by way of providing the upfront funding that is needed to develop the Civil Defence. The way to do that is to look at those who are seeking funding for a headquarters, for further training or for further equipment and to make sure that they get it. It is an investment in a structure and in a response unit, but also in the individuals who are there, particularly young people. It is absolutely essential that we give them the credit that they deserve and that we give them the funding without having them go chase for that funding. That may not be something that can be done easily when the budgets are tight but they should not be forgotten for the work that they do.

I support this Bill. I support the Civil Defence. I ask that, in Kilkenny, they would look at the situation regrading the headquarters and the various equipment that they have.

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