Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the members of Dublin Fire Brigade and my former colleagues from the union to the debate. I thank Fianna Fáil for tabling the motion.

The fire brigade does fantastic work. Much of this work goes unseen but that does not mean it is not important. The motion states that DFB has been providing crucial ambulance services to the citizens of Dublin city and county since 1898. Today the fire brigade provides immediate medical assistance 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Those who have been rescued, saved or transferred by the DFB cannot speak highly enough of them. I have in mind my grandmother. She is not with us anymore, but when the time came and she needed to be transferred to hospital, she was transferred by the DFB. Our family will be forever grateful for the care and compassion the personnel showed us.

Dublin Fire Brigade has the knowledge and experience to continue to deliver a full range of services to the capital. The provision of a fire-based ambulance service is regarded internationally as best practice. Combining fire, rescue and emergency services greatly improves the response to a crisis. There must be full support not only for the service but for the personnel who deliver that service. Instead of attacking the service, we need to maximise service delivery.

I echo what has been said by other Deputies. It is unfortunate that none of the senior Ministers could find time in their schedule to be present. I hope that does not send a negative message to the people who are in the Gallery or those who are outside.

There should be no barrier for staff in the DFB from career progression. We need to enhance the service and attract men and women to the service and ensure they can access continuing professional development.

I welcome the Minister of State's comment that she believes it is timely to look again at how the funding arrangements between the two organisations work as well as how to put the service on a sound financial footing. However, we need to understand what exactly this means to have confidence that the great service provided by the men and women of the fire brigade to the people of Dublin will continue.

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