New Civil Defence headquarters opens in Navan

Work of volunteers during pandemic very important, says minister

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, officially opened the new Meath Civil Defence Headquarters in Mullaghboy Industrial Estate, Navan on Friday last.

The project represents an investment of over €2.6 million, made up of the council’s own resources with a contribution from National Civil Defence, and will comprises a new 970 square metre sustainable building, encompassing a vehicle bay area, kitchen with adjoining dining room, training room, offices, changing rooms/toilets, stores, comms room and radio room, with an outdoor training area also on site.

The building will be named ‘Moat View House – Arás Radharc an Mhóta’ and is Meath County Council’s first building with an A3 Energy Rating and includes 21 solar PV panels producing a maximum of 4.5kw of electricity for use in the building.

Minister McEntee said: “During this global pandemic we are asked to stand two metres apart. But that does not mean we have to be separated in any other respect. The voluntary work of Meath Civil Defence during this pandemic proves this. They have done so much good in so many ways – big and small over the last seven months – be it helping out other state agencies, or the simple things like dropping off medication or shopping to those in need with a friendly smile behind the mask. The 190 Meath Civil Defence volunteers can feel a sense of pride and achievement in their new state of the art building, and also in their strong local track record that helped make the business case for this investment.”

Jackie Maguire, chief executive of Meath County Council, commended the work of the 185 volunteers who since the beginning of the pandemic have passed 500 Covid-19 taskings.

Ms Maguire said: “Civil Defence is very important to Meath County Council and to the people of Meath. It and the volunteers have played a key role in supporting the principle response agencies during the pandemic, such An Garda Siochana, the Fire Service, the HSE and other frontline agencies.”

"The volunteers are the lifeblood of the Civil Defence and today I am delighted that these volunteers have a permanent home and one that I hope they’ll be proud of and use for maximum benefit.”

Following the unveiling of the plaque, one of Meath’s longest serving volunteers John Crosby raised the tricolour to the national anthem played on the pipes by volunteer Carol Kearney.