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The Minister for Justice, Equality & Defence Officially Opens the New Laois
Civil Defence Premises at Mountmellick

The Minister for Justice, Equality & Defence, Mr Alan Shatter, T.D., today 17th February 2012, officially opened a new facility for local Civil Defence Volunteers at Mountmellick, Co. Laois. The impressive new facility which has been put in place by Laois County Council caters for Civil Defence training needs in the area. The Minister said “I am delighted to be here today to formally open this new facility and to get the opportunity to meet the Civil Defence Volunteers and to give recognition for the great service that you provide to the community”.

Referring to Civil Defence involvement in the recent tragic events in West Cork, the Minister commended the Volunteers for their response and stated that “Civil Defence have demonstrated their ability to work seamlessly in support of the front-line services; the Fire Service, HSE, Coastguard and, of course, the Gardaí with whom the Civil Defence here in Laois have forged a particularly strong relationship”.

The Minister also reiterated the Government’s continued support for Civil Defence and took the opportunity to refer to the forthcoming legislation that will see the functions of Civil Defence return to the Department of Defence. Commenting on this, the Minister said “I see this as a very positive step for the Civil Defence organisation and I have no doubt that Civil Defence will continue to flourish as part of the Department of Defence”. Before finishing, the Minister congratulated the local Volunteers on their new centre and acknowledged their unselfish contribution to their local community.

END



Note for Editors

Laois Civil Defence has a long history of providing dedicated service to the community. The Unit has centres in Stradbally, Durrow, Mountmellick and Portlaoise. Regular training classes are provided at these centres in disciplines such as Casualty, Rescue, Welfare, Radio Communications and Auxillary Fire. A state of the art facility for Civil Defence has recently been provided at one of those locations, Mountmellick.

The new Laois Civil Defence premises, which will serve the needs of local volunteers, is located in an industrial park on the fringes of the town of Mountmellick on the Tullamore Road. The new facility has space and scope surrounding the building for additional training activities. The premises, provided by Laois County Council, is a very effective emergency response centre with secure storage and training facilities. Its location, within 10 to 15 minutes of the Slieve Bloom mountains and close to the town of Mountmellick, is pivotal from the perspective of assisting in mountain rescue and given that Mountmellick has traditionally been prone to flooding. Laois County Council has also allowed Civil Defence to retain the use of their previous base, the old Fire Station premises, for storage purposes.

The interior of the new premises has been fitted out to a very high standard and includes a mezzanine floor over part of the interior which houses a training room, kitchenette and an office/radio control room. The new facility will greatly assist the Volunteers in both reacting to and preparing for the many demands placed on them in their selfless service to the community.










































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