Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I first raised this matter in the Dáil on 25 January and I stand over the remarks I made on that occasion. Yesterday was St. Valentine's Day, the anniversary of the Stardust tragedy in 1981. On that awful night we saw the efficiency and professionalism of the Dublin Fire Brigade and ambulance service at its best. International best practice indicates that combining fire rescue and emergency services greatly improves the response to a crisis. That was clearly seen in the case of the Stardust tragedy.

SIPTU is balloting for strike action at the moment. All indications are that the go-ahead will be given for strike action. The key issue is that the Dublin Fire Brigade is being starved of resources and support to do its job. The chief executive of Dublin City Council wants to transfer the call-taking and dispatching for ambulances to the national control centre in Tallaght. I oppose this. It is not in the interest of the citizens of Dublin. The expert panel published a report. That is the way forward to deal with this particular issue. I hope the Minister of State present will support it. It is a roadmap on how to deal with the problem and it was published in December 2015.

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