Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

Fine Gael will be supporting the Labour Party motion in respect of this very important issue. I am disappointed the Government has not seen fit to agree with the Opposition on a Private Members' motion for the second week running. Tonight's important motion comes in the wake of a difficult tragedy in Bray. It highlights, nonetheless, neglected issues in the emergency services over the years which have been articulated both by Members and the public.

I extend my sympathies to the families of Brian Murray and Mark O'Shaughnessy. They have brought to national attention the deficiencies in one of our essential emergency services. One difficulty faced by the Government is that the emergency services are in rag order. Whether it is health or the fire services, we cannot always depend on everything working as it should. The Opposition, in a constructive manner, is trying to establish principles and good practice to ensure the recent tragedy in Bray does not happen again.

This issue goes back to 2001 when the then Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Noel Dempsey, recognised rightly there were problems in the co-ordination of emergency services. He asked an expert group to examine how best services could be deployed in the fire and emergency services. Farrell Grant Sparks was commissioned to report on the matter. However, like so many reports commissioned by the Government, it had to be dusted down in recent days to see what was in it. That is not good enough.

A high level group and four committees were established to evaluate the competencies regarding the delivery of the fire and emergency services and the risks in each fire authority. The recommendations of the risk-based committee achieved nothing, which crystallised itself in the recent events in Bray. Arising from the appalling tragedy in Bray, there will be separate Garda, departmental and Health and Safety Authority investigations. We can have all the investigations we like but do we learn lessons from them? Sadly, based on the failure to implement the key recommendations of the Farrell Grant Sparks report, I will not hold my breath for the implementation of the new reports' recommendations.

What is needed is an independent authority that will transcend local authority boundaries and will ensure people can rely on a fire service that will minimise risk. The Fire Acts allow for cross-boundary treatment of fires. In the case of the recent Bray fire, the full-time fire service of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown could have been called upon. In spite of what the Taoiseach said, there is a difference between part-time and full-time services. People in a part-time service must leave their place of work to attend a fire scene. The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown service, a full-time one, was eight minutes from the recent Bray fire. Why was it not called upon? This is one of many questions to which people want answers.

It is not good enough for the Minister to throw everything back on the local authorities. It is a requirement of the House to act on deficiencies in services. I call on the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, to ensure recommendations from the Farrell Grant Sparks report are implemented. We do not need any more reports. The existing reports must be implemented.

The Government amendment to the motion shows it is not committed to realise these objectives. The core recommendation of the Farrell Grant Sparks report stated:

A new authority at national level which will provide stronger national leadership, put in place a more integrated and coherent structure at the centre and which will lead, develop, implement and manage the performance of a new regime aimed at delivering better results.

The report also stated such an authority would establish these "new arrangements at local authority level which will integrate existing fire authorities and building control authorities into a unified structure". This is the only way in which "a more focused and enhanced emphasis on prevention and mitigation as well as on operational emergency response capability".

The Government must rethink these issues between now and the end of this debate. The House can be united on this motion, in the memory of the recently deceased firefighters in Bray. Doing so would allow us to be in a position to tell their families and those who work part time and full time in the service that there is a new policy position that will ensure confidence in our fire services.

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