- There had been a lot of speculation on what the White Paper on Defence would bring for Civil Defence. There were rumours that a move from the Department of Defence to the Department of the Environment would be sanctioned. In the end it was decided to maintain the status quo. In recognition of the 50th anniversary of Civil Defence the funding for the service was increased by £0.5 million.

- On Sunday 5th March No.3 Base personnel were assisting at Combat 2000 at Ballyfin College. This involved students from local secondary schools competing in events based on military training. The events included assault courses, map reading, weapon assembly/disassembly, "spot the sniper" and camoflauge skills. The competition is intended to give students an experience of military life and promote recruitment to the FCÁ (army reserve) or the Permanent Defence Forces. The competition was organized by F Company 9th Infantry Battalion, the local FCÁ unit which is based in Durrow. It was planned that Civil Defence would provide a boat to make use of the lake adjacent to the college, but mechanical problems (a wheel bearing) prevented this. The unit's radiocomms and 4wd transport were used in the running of the event and personnel provided assistance with First Aid cover also. For the record, Ballyfin won with Rathdowney coming second.