The Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality yesterday, 24th October, 2012 heard in detail about the vital role that Civil Defence plays aiding the full-time emergency services in Ireland.
Committee Chairman David Stanton, TD, said: “This was the first time, to our knowledge, that Civil Defence Ireland appeared before an Oireachtas Committee to discuss the role that it plays in helping our full-time emergency services.
It was an enlightening and productive meeting and the work carried out by Civil Defence is a good news story which deserves to be acknowledged. Around 4,500 active volunteers gave up their time and are trained to a high degree of proficiency in a variety of areas, such as life saving skills, first aid, fire fighting, search and rescue and radiation monitoring, at very little cost to the State. As the national civil defence organisation of Ireland, it plays a key role in aiding the full-time emergency services as and when required.
Given the plans to abolish the board of Civil Defence and return its functions to the Department of Defence, we wish the organisation and all of its personnel well in the future and we look forward to them continuing to undertake a very important national job.