Ms Fiona Quinn:

You have outlined the process we are going through, Chairman, and I understand your concerns about the timing of it. This is definitely a matter of concern. The national director for fire and emergency management has a management board which oversees the approach to fire services in the State. There is an ongoing review and it is important that all stakeholders get the opportunity to feed into that, including the firefighters, the councillors, the executive and, at national level, ourselves. That work is important; it is important that we hear stakeholders' voices and that when there are recommendations they take on board the complexities across the country. There are different situations and different circumstances in different parts of the country, as you are well aware.