Overview of the civil defence

Civil defence is a nationwide voluntary based organisation which consists of skilled and trained personnel who give their time freely to serve their communities. Civil defence members prepare and undertake extensive training to provide appropriate response as a back-up service to the local emergency services in the event of an emergency situation occurring. Volunteers also render assistance at community events.

The responsibilities of civil defence at county level are administered by a designated officer, the civil defence officer (an employee of the local authority) who reports to the chief fire officer.

The civil defence officer is a member of Clare County Council's Major Emergency Management Committee and is responsible for ensuring that civil defence members are trained in accordance with the organisations responsibilities as outlined in the plan. 

This training includes:

• First-Aid
• Rope/Heights Rescue
• Welfare
• Auxiliary Fire Service
• Radio Communication
• Boat Handling
• Land and Water Search
• Radiation Monitoring
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones)

Civil defence duties include the following:

• Response to flooding problems
• Response to environmental problems
• Response to major emergencies
• Response to radiological emergencies
• Participate in river, lake and coastal area search and recovery
• Stewarding
• Response to forest fires

Clare Civil Defence participates in national exercises which are conducted annually. This provides opportunities for large scale exercises. It helps to broaden their skills and provides a forum to inject external influence and expertise into the organisation.

Visit www.civildefence.ie for more information.