Mr. Geoff McEvoy:

I wish to add the Dublin Fire Brigade context to the Deputy's question about burnout. The firefighters in Dublin Fire Brigade are facing a serious crewing shortage at present. As can be seen in our submission, that is resulting in, at times, up to 20% of the fleet not being available for service and scenarios where the fire brigade is becoming increasingly reliant on overtime to try to cover the city to the greatest extent possible. Potentially, up to 150 new firefighters need to be recruited into the service. All of this is having a massive impact on the morale of staff and their fatigue levels. It is becoming increasingly detrimental. However, I am sure the committee will join me in paying tribute to the personnel in both the Dublin Fire Brigade and the National Ambulance Service because despite those challenges, which are increasing, as the members of the committee will learn in the course of this meeting, they are continuing to make life-saving interventions and are saving lives in this city in the case of Dublin Fire Brigade and around the country in the case of the National Ambulance Service.