Vol. 409 No. 10
9 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Defence the total number of members in the Civil Defence; if he plans any review of the role of Civil Defence in light of the reduced risk of nuclear warfare; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The active strength of Civil Defence volunteers is around 12,000. My Department have undertaken a review of the roles and training of the Civil Defence organisation in recent times in the light of national requirements and the international outlook.
While the perception of the risk of nuclear war is less than it has been for many years, the State must also be prepared to respond to the consequences of a peacetime industrial nuclear accident such as occurred in the Chernobyl disaster. The national response mechanism is set out in the peacetime industrial nuclear accident plan and Civil Defence have been assigned specific roles under that plan.
In addition, the Civil Defence organisation have roles in the measures to be taken consequent on the occurrence of major accidents and disasters and to the provision of Community support generally.
In view of the Minister's statement that it is intended to maintain the Civil Defence organisation, would he consider providing funds directly to the local authorities rather than leaving it to local authorities to raise funding by way of rates and recouping it from the Department at a very late stage when they are already scraping the bottom of the barrel?
The Civil Defence organisation in each local authority area provide a back-up to recognised services such as health boards, the Garda and the fire service. They provide first aid and ambulance cover at sports and community events and also provide assistance, when requested, to the health boards by the provision of ambulances. The Civil Defence also provide four wheel drive vehicles in blizzard and flooding conditions to enable medical personnel visit patients. The Civil Defence have very wide responsibilities and I should like to avail of this opportunity to compliment them on their splendid work. With regard to the question of resources, the Civil Defence have not had any difficulty in maintaining their activities, as they have done over the years. As far as the Government are concerned, priority will always be given to ensuring that the Civil Defence are permitted to play their very important role.
The Minister did not answer my question. In view of the commitment given to maintain the Civil Defence organisation, may I again ask the Minister if it is proposed to provide funding directly to local authorities rather than leaving it to them to raise that money in their estimates?
The Department sub-sidise the expenditure on Civil Defence by all local authorities. It is up to the local authorities to decide what level of expenditure they should provide in their estimates. There has never been any difficulty in so far as funding by the Department is concerned.
