To join the Civil Defence organisation please contact the Civil Defence Officer in your local authority area. Contact details for all Civil Defence Officers are available on the Home Page

Civil Defence offer members the opportunity to train in a variety of skills and to learn new techniques that will not only assist your local community in the event of an emergency but will also enhance your own personal development. Centrally run training courses, which run from January to May and again from September to December, are offered in the following areas: Medical Response – Civil Defence provides pre-hospital training and certification from Responder to Practitioner levels. All training is delivered by experienced instructors and is certified to national standards. Search & Rescue – training in urban rescue, open country search for missing persons and water based search and recovery.  It also includes the operation of drones. Emergency Response – this includes training in certain areas of firefighting such as pump and ladder drills. Pumping floodwaters and supplying water and emergency supports to the community.  We have volunteers trained in aftercare for disaster victims. We also have volunteers trained in food preparation in accordance with HACCP standards. Communications – training in VHF, UHF, TETRA and marine VHF radio operations and procedures including the familiarisation and correct use of all items of radio equipment operated by Civil Defence. Radiation Monitoring – training in the measurement of background radiation at specified locations throughout the country. The Service also collects samples of water, milk, meat, vegetables etc throughout the country for laboratory testing by the EPA in order to give a nationwide picture of radiation spread. Community Assistance – Civil Defence assist at hundreds of community events every year. These range from major national events to smaller local events including parades festivals, sporting events, charity events and local authority events. Support can take many forms including medical cover and safety boat cover.