Le: Aire Cosanta; Micheál Martin
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Welcome
To all current and former Officers and volunteers of our Civil Defence present, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
It is my great pleasure and privilege to welcome Civil Defence volunteers here today for the first national medal ceremony since 2017.
As Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, I believe it is vitally important to mark the milestones of your commitment as volunteers to the Civil Defence and pay appropriate tribute to your long and selfless service.
To have more than 100 volunteers with 30, 40, 50 and in some cases even 60 years of service present today, marks this as a very special occasion.
It is also a very clear demonstration of what Civil Defence means to the people who drive it forward, and what Civil Defence means to the country.
I also wish to welcome Civil Defence Officers and Assistant Civil Defence Officers, a few of you also receiving medals here today.
Your leadership at local level is what makes it possible for the Civil Defence to deploy all across the State in support of An Garda Síochána and other principal response agencies, while also providing key support to your communities for local events week-in week-out.
I want to take this opportunity this afternoon to share some thoughts on the importance of volunteering.
In 2024, we now have an increased awareness in our country of the importance of volunteers and not before time.
A National Volunteer Strategy has been in place for some years now but there is no doubt that the recent challenges with the COVID pandemic and the Ukrainian refugee crisis sparked by Putin’s illegal invasion of that country, has brought home to a wider population the key role volunteers play in our country.
Talking to volunteers over many years, the most consistent themes informing a decision to become a volunteer that I hear are SERVICE, and COMMUNITY.
Individuals who love their country, like all of you in this room, want to give back and be of service.
And they want to do whatever they can, to the best of their ability, to bolster and protect that important building block of Irish society – the local community.
Another consistent theme I pick up from Volunteers is the enormous personal satisfaction they get from volunteering.
Civil Defence Volunteers form close bonds with each other in their Units, training together, and serving on duties together, sometimes for days at a time.
Camaraderie and life-long friendships is without a doubt one of the primary personal benefits.
Volunteering also brings us in contact with our neighbours and the wider community.
Had you not joined the Civil Defence all those years ago, you would have missed out on so many experiences, seeing people at their best, when you support their charitable endeavours; or on their most difficult days, in your support of the primary response agencies.
I’m acutely aware, as are my government colleagues, that you do all of this in your own time and voluntarily.
In recent years, we have worked to ensure that the professional standards you demonstrate in your volunteering are matched by supports from your Local Authority and my department, but your personal dedication and sacrifice remains the cornerstone of the service.
It is vital also that we recognise the uniqueness of Civil Defence volunteers.
In general, much of what is considered volunteering in wider society is on an informal and ad hoc basis, and that is hugely valuable too. But where the Civil Defence stands out is in the level of commitment required and given.
I know that Civil Defence Officers, in the induction programmes, are very clear with new recruits that there is a level of commitment required when they join the Civil Defence organisation.
In addition, pretty much every Civil Defence Officer and Assistant Civil Defence Officer here today was a volunteer of long-standing before taking up their current role.
While they would have been very familiar with the role of the Civil Defence from a training and duties perspective, the step up into the running of a Civil Defence Unit - managing equipment and vehicles, budgets, training, risk and, of course, a diverse range of duties, is highly complex and should be recognised as such.
Please be assured today that my department and I are actively looking at new ways to provide practical supports and training for these key roles.
While I have touched on what you may have gained from your years of Civil Defence service, the scales are by no means balanced here. Irish society has benefitted far, far more from your service.
Throughout your decades of service, you have been a comforting and reassuring presence in your communities and a key resource to the State in all the challenges it faces, especially in times of greatest vulnerability.
The Civil Defence was founded in 1951, as Ireland, like the rest of the world came to terms with the impact of the Second World War and worked to prepare for the uncertain future of nuclear weaponry that accompanied it.
While the world, and indeed Ireland may have changed beyond all recognition in the intervening years, we gather today at a time of similar global uncertainty and instability.
All of you who are here to be recognised and honoured today will have seen many of those changes, and you will have witnessed, and in many cases helped drive the accompanying changes within Civil Defence over the years.
Your openness to change, and your endless adaptability has meant that no matter what has been thrown at you, the Civil Defence and its volunteers have evolved quickly to meet these challenges.
As many of you will have also seen, the Civil Defence organisation continues to evolve, and – when we published the Civil Defence Act 2023 - we also published a new Code of Practice.
We did this to ensure that dignity and respect is embedded in our day-to-day Civil Defence operations, to ensure inclusivity for all, and in so doing make sure that Civil Defence continues to have the strong foundations necessary to adapt and grow in the decades ahead.
In the meantime, we as a government and I as Minister for Defence will continue to invest in the Civil Defence, to ensure that this invaluable organisation continues to grow and fulfil its crucial role in Irish society.
Finally, can I thank you, the volunteers, for everything you do. I thank also your families for the support they give you to enable your work.
And I want to especially thank you for travelling here today and giving me the opportunity to formally and publicly recognise your exceptional service.
Míle buíochas le gach oibrí deonach Cosanta Shibhialta.