Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I return to the gallant men and women of our fire services. The Taoiseach should imagine what it would be like if he were bound by restrictions that prevented him from travelling beyond 3 km of his place of work or home without permission and being on call 24-7 for 48 weeks of the year. He should think about the enormous impact this would have on his life and the lives of his loved ones and family. A person would expect such an involvement would be well remunerated. Now imagine the guaranteed income for this life being around €8,000 per year, which is a pittance.

This the reality for our whole-time firefighters, who earn approximately €700 per month which equates to 99 cent per hour. Just imagine that. Would the Taoiseach take on a role that expected him to stay within 3 km of his station for 99 cent an hour? Covid has ended for most of us, thankfully, but they are still living in Covid circumstances, confined to within 3 km of their bases. It is inhuman.

This is before we mention the dangers and risks associated with their very important role. Imagine giving a commitment to that role and being unable to apply for a car loan, mortgage or any other kind of loan because of the need to supplement that income with social welfare. I heard one of our firemen from Nenagh this morning on Tipperary FM saying they are taxed on that as well. It is an outrageous situation. This is the sad reality for the brave men and women of our retained fire service.

The retained firefighters are at the coalface of every human disaster across the State. We met them recently in Bray. I know they provide an ambulance service in Dublin, but outside of Dublin they are called in to assist with cardiac arrests, accidents and everything because the ambulances are not there as they are travelling up and down the country in another failed system.

I do not have to say what our firefighters do. They save so many lives. They put their own lives and those of their families on the line. Imagine today they are forced to go out on industrial action. Some 22 years ago the former Minister Noel Dempsey promised to resolve this. That is how bad it is. Now we have almost 60% saying they will leave in the next two or three years. They are leaving like snow off a ditch because they cannot do this any more, even though they want to do it. They want to serve the people. They want to help their communities and neighbours. They cannot afford to stay. It is devastating on their family lives.

The Taoiseach is telling them to stay in negotiations and says the Government has accepted a report. It has not. The Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, is not engaging in talking. A sum of €50 million will sort this out for these gallant men and women and their families but the Government will not give it to them. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, stands up here saying we want to sort it. The Government should get around a table, take out that layer like it has for the HSE, the LGMA. It is saying it does not have the money from the Government and cannot pay them. It is the typical spin here and passing of the buck. Sort out our fire services once and for all, 22 years after those words of the then Minister Noel Dempsey. It is that long ago. It is time they got the respect they deserve.

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