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Legal warning issued on Civil Defence liabilities

A regulatory issue which threatened licensing for some festivals has been resolved.

The Civil Defence, which offers first-responder medical assistance, is licensed through the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) to operate at festivals.

Its licence expired at the end of July, and the department received a legal warning about the lack of information on training and qualification of Civil Defence members.

Funding and training grants are issued through the department, though local authorities take charge of daily operations, RTE.ie has reported.

The legal advice said that the department was taking on liabilities associated with the Civil Defence, without full information.

Guarantees

Following consultation with the PHECC, the department has now said it is satisfied it has the necessary guarantees from local authorities.

The department confirmed that an application has now been submitted with PHECC to renew the licence following engagement with local authorities.