Vol. 395 No. 3
20 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for Defence if it is his intention to have the members of the Civil Defence trained for mountain and river rescue, in view of the fact that there is nobody officially responsible for locating bodies which have gone missing in mountain and river areas in many parts of Ireland.
The primary responsibility for the co-ordination of mountain rescue rests with the Department of the Environment. When requested, Civil Defence volunteers assist in mountain and river rescue operations within the limits of their training and equipment.
A Cheann Comhairle, you raised this matter in May 1966 and it did not have the desired effect. Obviously, in view of the Minister's attitude, it will not have much effect now either. Is the Minister aware that there is no co-ordinated system for recovering a body which is missing in a river? It is not the responsibility of the Department of the Environment because they do not have the staff — or the willingness — to do it. I assume the Minister had the Department in mind when he referred to local authorities. I recently heard of a case where a body was missing for four weeks which caused considerable trauma to the family. Indeed, voluntary helpers put themselves in danger because they were not trained to do the job. Now that the threat of nuclear war has receded and that Eastern Germany and other places have gone quiet — thanks to Deputy McCartan and a few others — will the Minister consider training Civil Defence personnel in recovering bodies? The personnel are willing to assist in this operation and it would be a great relief, not only to the families involved, but to the whole community when incidents of this sort take place.
Civil Defence personnel are frequently involved in mountain and river rescues. This involvement has exceeded the scope and role which were originally assigned to the rescue service. In view of this, the Department have undertaken to carry out a full review of the rescue capabilities. This review is now coming to an end and it has involved various research projects such as experts meeting for discussions and trial exercises which have covered the full spectrum of rescue activity. The study is currently defining the objectives of the review and this involves a realistic capability for Civil Defence units, bearing in mind the voluntary nature of that organisation, the limited time available for training and the limited resources of finance. The review is expected to be finalised very shortly and, within a reasonable period, I expect to be able to come back to the Deputy with additional information as requested.
We now come to Question No. 21.
Will the Minister take Question No. 41 in my name which deals with the same matter?
Very well.
Questions Nos. 21 and 41 will be taken together.
