Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I am giving this reply on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche. I thank Deputy Crowe for raising the matter on the Adjournment.

The Minister is anxious to record the commitment of the Government to the fire service and the way that commitment has been backed up by positive action both in terms of change and financial investment. He also wants to express his appreciation for the very significant contribution the fire service has made, and continues to make each day, in safeguarding our communities. I join the Minister in that tribute.

The environment in which the fire service operates has changed dramatically in recent years. With that in mind, the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, appointed consultants Farrell Grant Sparks to carry out a review of the fire service and make recommendations. The outcome of that review was the report, Review of Fire Safety and Fire Services in Ireland. That is the template for the development of the service.

Many of the recommendations of the Farrell Grant Sparks report have been implemented already. These include, in particular, the enactment of the Licensing of Indoor Events Act 2003, which addressed a number of legislative changes called for in the review. In February 2005, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, announced the fire services change programme to implement the key fire services and fire safety recommendations of the report.

The fire services change programme sets out the strategy for the future development of the fire service and includes measures addressing the development of community fire safety programmes; the development of a risk based approach to the determination of fire cover standards; the introduction of a competency-based approach to recruitment, retention and career progression in the fire service; and the enhancement of health, safety and welfare programmes within the fire service.

Work on the fire services change programme is being carried out by a project team of dedicated fire service professionals and is progressing satisfactorily. All of the key stakeholder groups in the fire service are participating positively in the change programme. The Minister is confident this approach can take us forward and achieve real progress in modernising the fire service. The outputs from the change programme will significantly reshape the delivery of fire and rescue services in the years ahead. The Minister has made it clear on many occasions that his priority under the fire services change programme is not to pursue further institutional change at this time but to use the available resources to bring about direct and real improvements in the key fire services and the fire safety area.

The fire service can never have enough resources but we must achieve a balance. There have been massive improvements affecting all areas of the service — more investment in infrastructure and equipment, more staff, better training, improved communications and legislation has been stepped up. We have 3,400 persons employed in the fire service. There are more than 1,000 full-time firefighters in our major cities and more than 2,000 retained staff who respond to protect their own communities when needed. We have 170 senior personnel who lead the service, including professional staff members who examine all building plans for fire safety and carry out inspections of premises.

Our training in the fire service is to international standards. The Fire Services Council assists fire authorities through the provision of training courses and seminars to supplement the training provided by the authorities. The council runs an annual programme of training courses and seminars for senior and junior fire officers and for the instructors who train the firefighters at local level. Since 2001, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has provided more than €2.3 million to the Fire Services Council for this purpose.

In tandem with implementing the fire services change programme, we are continuing to maintain a very high level of capital investment in the fire service. Over the past 25 years, almost €240 million has been provided to local fire authorities under the fire services capital programme for the provision of new and refurbished fire stations and the purchase of fire appliances and other equipment. At this stage, more than two thirds of our fire stations, including almost all of the busiest stations, have been replaced, we have a modem fleet of front-line fire appliances and a modem emergency response communications system and our equipment is world class.

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