Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Retained firefighters are entitled to a jobseeker’s payment in respect of days they are engaged in firefighting or training. They are, however, required to satisfy the statutory conditions for the receipt of a jobseeker’s payment of being available for and genuinely seeking work. A working group has reported to me and I am pleased to inform the House that I have decided to advance provision within the jobseeker’s schemes to cater for these workers. In arriving at this decision I have been particularly mindful of the vital service they provide, particularly in rural communities where the fire service is almost exclusively staffed by retained personnel.

Legislation in this area is being drafted for inclusion, as approved by the Government, in the forthcoming Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013. For this reason, I will not go into the specifics of the planned provisions. However, it is my intention that the legislation will allow retained firefighters reasonable and a fair level of access to the schemes in the future. The legislation will take effect from commencement of the relevant provisions of the Bill.

I thank all Deputies and Senators who have been in contact with me on this issue for their patience and forbearance, as well as my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, for his input. I intend to write to relevant Members in the near future outlining my proposals in more detail.

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