Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1322. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will address concerns that members of the Civil Defence can no longer assist gardaí with assisting in road traffic management; the current situation with regard to this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14188/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Civil Defence is a statutory volunteer based organisation which supports the frontline emergency services. It operates in partnership between the Department of Defence and local authorities’ through-out Ireland. The Department of Defence is charged with the strategic management and development of Civil Defence at national level. At local level, Civil Defence is based in each local authority area under the operational control of the relevant local authority. On a day to day basis these Units operate under the control of a Civil Defence Officer (CDO). The CDO is a full-time employee of the local authority and is responsible for the day-to-day management of Civil Defence matters under the overall direction of the Chief Executive of the local authority.

The White Paper on Defence (2015) establishes the priority task for Civil Defence as emergency support to the Principal Response Agencies (an Garda Síochána, the Health Service Executive and local authorities). This embraces the large number of support roles under the Framework for Major Emergency Management which includes providing assisting in dealing with a wide range of emergencies at national and local level, including severe weather, flooding and searches for missing persons.

The day-to-day operational management of local Civil Defence units is the responsibility of the relevant local authority in which the unit is based. In this context, it is a matter for each local authority to determine the type and the level of support that can be provided in response to any request for assistance, including an Garda Síochána in road traffic management. In making this determination, the local authority will take a wide range of factors into consideration including the availability of volunteers, the nature of the task, whether those volunteers are trained and equipped to safely undertake the task and the competing demands for Civil Defence support at the time the request is received.