Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

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

I too extend that welcome to our guests. I am pleased to present the Bill to the House on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence. The purpose 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 because the existing regulatory framework, comprising enactments dating from 1939 to 2012, no longer provides a comprehensive statutory basis for Civil Defence matters.

Civil Defence was established in 1951. It is a State-funded organisation with volunteers in every county. It has a proud tradition of supporting the principal response agencies, namely, the local authorities, the Health Service Executive and An Garda Síochána, in dealing with a wide variety of emergencies. It also plays a very significant role in supporting local communities, old and new. The commitment of volunteers, which is important to the successful operation of Civil Defence, is truly inspiring.

Civil Defence has played an integral role in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and to the provision of support to Ukrainians seeking protection in Ireland. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Civil Defence volunteers played a significant role within their communities in every county. I know at first hand that in Westmeath, Civil Defence under the leadership of Brian Gillen played a huge role with its volunteers, of whom we are very proud for the great work they do. Approximately 9,500 taskings were undertaken by Civil Defence volunteers during the pandemic. Since March 2022, Civil Defence units have been actively supporting Ukrainians seeking protection in Ireland. This support has included setting up temporary rest centres and the provision of much-needed transport.

I acknowledge the constructive contributions and positive discussions on the work of Civil Defence during the debates on the Bill, and the recent engagement between the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence and representatives from the Department of Defence and Civil Defence. The consistent underlying theme from all the contributions is the pride and respect we all share for our Civil Defence organisation. Since 1951, 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 Precaution 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 policy framework on which Civil Defence currently operates was set down in a policy document entitled Civil Defence Towards 2030, published in 2020, which sets out the core roles and services of Civil Defence.

Although the Bill before us does not set out any major departures from existing policy, it will ensure there is a comprehensive legislative basis for the operation of Civil Defence. It will deliver on a commitment in the White Paper on Defence of 2015 to replacing the existing suite of legislation concerning Civil Defence with a more modern, aggregated legislative basis. The Bill will reaffirm the continuing role, at a national level, of Civil Defence in managing the development of the overall strategies and policies regarding Civil Defence matters and sets out an ongoing responsibility of the local authorities for operational matters such as the recruitment of volunteers and the delivery of Civil Defence services.

The legislation builds on the long-standing and successful model whereby local authorities manage the local operations of Civil Defence with the support of 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. As regards financial matters, the long-standing funding model for Civil Defence, whereby funding is provided by both the Department of Defence and local authorities, remains unchanged under the current legislation.

Under the pre-legislative scrutiny process, the general scheme of the Bill was referred to the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence. As part of this process, departmental officials made a presentation to the committee regarding the draft legislative proposals. Following the presentation, the committee agreed it would not undertake further pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill. As I indicated earlier, however, it recently took the opportunity to meet representatives of the Department of Defence and Civil Defence to discuss Civil Defence matters in greater detail, and I understand the joint committee intends to visit Civil Defence in Roscrea in the near future.

I will now outline the main provisions of the Bill. Section 1 is a standard section that provides definitions for key terms used in the Bill.

Section 2 sets out the responsibility of the Minister for Defence for the overall policies and strategies relating to Civil Defence. It also makes provision for the Minister to undertake a range of general functions in respect of Civil Defence including the provision of various services in support of local authorities.

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 for the purposes of providing shared Civil Defence services. It also 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 very important given they manage the operation of Civil Defence at a local authority level, including the registration, training and management of Civil Defence volunteers.

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.

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 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 reflect more appropriately 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 will be 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. Data entered onto the register shall be retained only for as long as necessary and in accordance with data protection legislation. In this 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. 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 one year a maximum of 70% of Civil Defence expenditure, unless prior approval has been 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.

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.

Section 14 provides for a number of necessary transitional provisions that are required because the existing enactments relating to Civil Defence are being repealed.

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 Civil Defence and the roles undertaken by almost 2,500 Civil Defence volunteers as they continue to serve their communities. I commend it to the House.