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

I thank all the Members of the House who spoke for their constructive contributions to this debate. I wholeheartedly agree with all of the words of support and encouragement from all sides of the House regarding the Civil Defence.

I am pleased to bring this Bill before the House on behalf of the Tánaiste. As I stated in my opening remarks, although it is a relatively short Bill, it addresses some important matters concerning the Civil Defence and its work. Before commenting on the Bill itself, I recognise the continuing and ongoing contribution of Civil Defence volunteers during the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing support it provides to Ukrainians seeking protection in Ireland. As always, the Civil Defence volunteers have made their presence count at times of need. As I outlined in my opening remarks, the commitment of Civil Defence volunteers is truly inspiring.

I will comment on a few of the issues that were raised. I acknowledge Senator Joe O'Reilly's full support for the organisation. He spoke about capturing the volunteerism they provide in the communities in which we reside. Regarding issues or investigations, currently, we are not aware of any concerns at this point about members of the Civil Defence, which underscores their professionalism and how much they give to our communities.

Senator McDowell raised a number of issues relating to recruitment. Covid has been a very difficult period for all organisations and recruitment to the Civil Defence was suspended for two years during that time. While many members of the Civil Defence were on the front line protecting our communities and assisting local authorities, given the health regulations at that time, there was neither the capacity nor the time to focus on recruitment. A significant effort is now being made to recruit more Civil Defence volunteers.This register is an updated one, which will more accurately reflect the membership of Civil Defence right across the country. I concur with Senator McDowell that it is important to underscore that volunteerism and work hard to commend it. Regarding his comments on the Defence Forces, the Commission on the Defence Forces will bring us to level of ambition 2, LOA2, and will see the State spending approximately €1.5 billion by 2028, updating our Defence Forces. That will be key to modernising all sectors of our Defence Forces and their capacity, which will be critical.

The Senator also made reference to aircraft. There is currently a contract out for the provision of two new maritime patrol aircraft, replacing the CASA 235 with the Airbus C295. There is also a contract to upgrade our radar, which we heard about in recent weeks. Procurement is being worked on for all of those areas we can enhance, which is important for our Defence Forces.

Senator McGreehan raised some important points, first about supporting volunteers, and second about our buildings and their capacity. I note the Department of Defence provides a one-off grant of, potentially, €150,000 to upgrade new premises. Some local authorities have supplied bespoke units themselves. They have acquired and purchased them. Some have actually developed them from scratch. Different models are operating in different local authorities.

Many Members raised the 70:30 funding breakdown with regard to Civil Defence. We have an increase in funding this year, which is important for the organisation. We have an increase up to €5.4 million, which is a 5% increase on 2022. The Dormant Accounts Fund has supplied about €3.4 million since 2019, which is also important. The Department of Defence works with special allocations for equipment and buildings. Moneys can also be granted for the Civil Defence officer and assistant officer as well as fuel costs, some training and vehicle access. All of that comes directly from the Department of Defence. All of those issues are catered for in conjunction with the local authorities. The value for the local community, versus the Department, has to be recognised. The allocation of 30% from local authorities is reasonable. The Government has to work at providing them with the conditions - in other words, to ensure that they have the capital infrastructure they need, and the buildings they need. When volunteers come into organisations, we need to ensure they are treated with respect, and have the conditions and support to discharge their duties on behalf of the community. That is very important and the Government is focused on doing that.

In response to Senator Martin, the by-laws will focus on core services, as set out in the policy document, Civil Defence - Towards 2030. Those relate to emergency response, search and rescue, medical response, community assistance and maintaining services. The Civil Defence code of practice will set out procedures relating to the suspension and revocation of Civil Defence volunteers, grievance and disciplinary procedures for Civil Defence volunteers and standards of conduct and integrity for Civil Defence volunteers when carrying out their duties. I have already mentioned the funding aspect.

Senator Wall rightly pointed out two or three important issues. The funding and capital funding have been mentioned. This will enhance co-operation and communication between units. I know Civil Defence units are independent, but they will now regularly assist each other with joint training, joint operations and trying to streamline communications and sharing of equipment. As the Senator rightly pointed out, that is important. What he said about Jimmy Byrne in his own locality underscores the importance of Civil Defence. They absolutely are local heroes. That term captures their value and what they do for our community every day of the week. They are among the key first responders.

As I stated in my opening remarks, the Bill does not propose any radical changes to the operation of Civil Defence. However, following the commitment to the White Paper on Defence and the Civil Defence - Towards 2030 policy document, this is an important time to take the opportunity to put in place comprehensive legislation on the Civil Defence, which consolidates the existing outdated and piecemeal body of legislation. The new legislation will support the continued and future development of Civil Defence. I thank everybody for their contributions. There will be an important opportunity on Committee Stage for further consideration of the Bill by Members. I commend the Bill to the House.