Minister with responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe TD has confirmed to Deputy Denis Naughten that a summit is to be held between the Department of Defence, Local Authority Chief Executives and the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) to address the issue surrounding the provision of ambulance and emergency cover by the Civil Defence.
Deputy Naughten, who has been in contact with the key players on this issue, has stated that it is vital that this issue is resolved in order that certain Civil Defence emergency medical operations can continue after the 31st of July”.
“If this issue is not resolved it could have a serious impact on the cost of running many local community and social events, putting some events off altogether, which would directly impact on our ability to develop the Irelands Hidden Heartlands Tourism brand launched by Government last year,” explained Denis Naughten.
“Civil Defence volunteers provide a vital service throughout the Country and I now hope that this summit will provide the clarity needed to address this important issue” concluded Denis Naughten.
