The establishing of a registry of specialised volunteers is considered necessary to ensure maximum effectiveness of volunteer support in a crisis, Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou said in a meeting with representatives on Wednesday.

The volunteer registry was the key topic in a meeting with members of the civil defence, the fire and forestry department, the ambulance service and Akel MP Irini Charalambidou, who had made the initial proposal for its creation.

Ioannou said that concrete timetables had been outlined during the meeting and that meetings between the relevant services would be held next week to adjust the drafted legislation proposal with their suggestions.

Charalambidou, on her part, added that talks with interested volunteer organisations were already underway.

“It is urgent to move forward, in order to catch up with next summer,” she said. “It is important to have political will, in order to move some issues in the right direction.”

She stressed that the proposal for a vote by the House plenum needed to be submitted as soon as possible to proceed with the creation of the registry and the respective certification process by next summer.

The proposed legislation stipulates that the registry will comprise all active, recognised groups of specialised volunteers.

Volunteer groups will then be called upon to declare their interest in registering as partners of the specific state agency, which will also be responsible for their training in all possible scenarios in which the volunteer groups will be called upon to operate.

Emphasising the crucial role of such groups during the July wildfires, Ioannou pointed to the efforts of volunteers in the safe and timely evacuation of residents, stressing that they constituted an important pillar for the prevention and suppression of natural and man-made disasters.

He said that the institutionalisation of these specialised groups aims to ensure “maximum and more effective utilisation” of volunteer groups in emergency situations and assured the interior ministry’s and the civil defence’s support for Charalambidou’s proposal.

The minister clarified that as per the bill, certified volunteer groups would continue in the structure and that the proposal would provide for regulations for new groups to register.

“From now on, any groups that want to engage in voluntary activities will be registered in the registry and will be subject to a specific state service,” he said.

Volunteer groups ETEA, Kitasweather, Volunteer Firefighting Team, Omonia 29th of May, THYRA 9, SOS Special Operations Squad, Cyprus Rescue Team and SupportCY, in a joint statement on October 14 declared their support of the bill, referring to it as “an extremely positive and comprehensive framework, which will now also legislatively recognise the contribution of specialised groups to the state”.