Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy knows, I do not expect anyone, be that person a Minister or not, to micromanage local authority services. I expect management to do that in every local authority area. The provision of fire services is a matter for Dublin City Council as a fire authority under the Fire Services Act 1981. The Deputy is asking me to interfere on the one hand and, on the other, to devolve power and responsibility so that local authorities can do their business properly.

Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each county and city manager is responsible for staffing and organisational arrangements. While overall staffing requests are sanctioned by the Department, the issue raised is a matter for Dublin City Council. It has been raised previously and I understand where Deputy McDonald is coming from, but the panel had been in place for four years and was only terminated at the end of last year. That is quite a long time to have a panel. Other people who want the chance to be employed by Dublin City Council as fire officers should expect to have the opportunity to apply for those posts.

Notwithstanding the moratorium that has been in place for some time, Dublin City Council has received sanction to fill 53 posts. However, my Department has not yet received a formal sanction request for the 28 posts to which the Deputy referred. All Dublin City Council requests to date have been sanctioned. Perhaps the Deputy might be able to inquire into this matter in her representations to Dublin City Council.

For operational purposes, there is a sharing of services between a number of fire authorities in Dublin. The Dublin Fire Brigade, staffed by 876 full-time firefighters, provides a fire and emergency response service to some 1.2 million people. While local authority staffing levels have been reducing across the country, the number of Dublin Fire Brigade personnel has been protected.

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