Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit chun an Bhille seo a phlé. The Civil Defence organisation is one of the most important organisations in the country. It was established in 1950 to provide a structure for giving a civil response on the potential hazards that might arise during a time of war. That obviously came just after the completion of the Second World War. Civil Defence is made up of 4,500 trained active members and up to 6,500 members when volunteers are included. Volunteers under the Civil Defence organisation carried out exceptional work in 2009 and that work should not go unrecognised. Civil Defence deserves the full respect and support of the State, given the important work it undertakes in conjunction with local authorities, the Army and Garda Síochána.

Fianna Fáil will not oppose the Bill, even though we have some concerns that the valuable external input, which has been represented on the board in the past ten years, could be lost given the proposed restructuring under the legislation. The late Séamus Brennan as Government Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Defence introduced the Civil Defence Act 2002. That Act provided for the establishment of the dedicated State-funded Civil Defence Board which was representative of the principal stakeholders, such as the relevant Departments, State agencies, county managers, Civil Defence officers and volunteers together with expertise from outside. That Act followed the previous legislation, the Air-Raid Precautions Act 1939 and a number of powers orders in 1946. The legislation was updated to give a more accurate reflection of the Civil Defence organisation in 2002.

The Civil Defence Bill, which will not be opposed by Fianna Fáil, will realign Civil Defence under the auspices of the Department of Defence. As the Minister of State outlined, this will see a transfer of functions, property, assets, liabilities and other responsibilities to the Department of Defence. The savings to be accrued by the move appear to be approximately ¤60,000, which is approximately 1.1% of the almost ¤5.6 million budget of Civil Defence.

I will not speak at length on the role of Civil Defence because it should be taken as read. Every Senator will agree the work carried out by the Civil Defence organisation deserves our full respect and gratitude. In my county many of the volunteers and those employed by Civil Defence carry out work at short notice for charitable or festival events such as the Donegal rally, or when there is an emergency. They are at our beck and call. They work closely with coastal and mountain rescue units. Their future role must be secured, as must the budget for Civil Defence. No cuts should be made in any budget for Civil Defence given the absolute necessity of having such a resource available to the State.

Under the 2002 Act the Civil Defence Board was empowered to initiate and foster contacts with other Departments and State authorities, external national and international educational and research institutions as well as utilising its own resources to enable it to develop optimum standards for the training of volunteers. Is this capacity likely to be curtailed by the board's return to the Department of Defence? I ask the Minister of State to contemplate this. Savings of ¤60,000 are outlined in the Bill, but the Bill does not outline the cost associated with the reconfiguration of Civil Defence. Is there a cost and, if so, will it be front-loaded?

The fact that Civil Defence works closely with local authorities throughout the country means its response can be immediate and locally focused. What guarantee, if any, can be provided that this will continue? The point of government most local to the citizen works closely with Civil Defence which means it responds quickly. Will this be jeopardised in any way?

The 2002 Act also sought to strengthen and maintain the volunteer ethos of Civil Defence and provided for the voice of the volunteer to be clearly available on the management board. How will the voice of the volunteer continue to be heard under the new Bill? I would be grateful if the Minister of State outlines responses to these questions when he sums up at the end of Second Stage. Fianna Fáil will not oppose the Bill. We do not see any reason to do so. However, we would welcome clarification on the points I have raised.