Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Thar ceann Shinn Féin, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an mBille seo. Tréaslaím leis an Aire Stáit, leis na feidhmeannaigh ón Roinn a bhfuil tar éis an obair seo a dhéanamh agus, go mórmhór, le muintir an Cosaint Shibhialta ar fud an oileáin a dhéanann obair na gcapall ag am na géarchéime, sa chuid is mó, chomh maith le féiltí agus ócáidí éagsúla. Bíonn siad ag traenáil de shíor i rith na bliana. Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl acu. Tá sé de dhualgas orainn mar fheidhmeannacht agus mar Stáit déanamh cinnte de go bhfuil an tacaíocht cuí ar fáil dóibh.

I welcome the Bill. I commend the Minister of State, the civil servants who drafted the Bill and, I am sure, put in a lot of work, and also anyone who has been involved in any way with the work of Civil Defence over the years, in particular those who served on the board. I hope that work goes from strength to strength. The importance of voluntarism is well known and it is fantastic for people to be involved in their local communities.

As part of the ongoing process I ask the Government to endeavour to support the work of Civil Defence financially and by ensuring the necessary resources are kept in place and up to date and that equipment is renewed, when necessary. The level of dialogue between the Minister of State's Department and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is key. Some of the crises - flooding and so on - might have been averted had there been better planning and better drainage systems, if more money had been put into roads, waterways and infrastructure, with everything upgraded, as required. The funding of local authorities is also key in order that staffing levels are sufficient to undertake the necessary maintenance works on a day-to-day basis to avert such crises.

I commend the Minister of State and congratulate him on the Bill. I wish him and any person involved in Civil Defence all the best for the future.