Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the representatives of Dublin Fire Brigade. I support the motion before the House. The Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, said earlier that the Government will support the motion. Her words in expressing support for the motion need to be followed up with actions. That is what is important to us. All of us raise issues with the HSE day in, day out. It is proposed to take responsibility for ambulances from Dublin Fire Brigade and give it to the HSE even though it is having great difficulty in dealing with itself. As Deputy Haughey said earlier, "If it is not broken, do not fix it."

Most of the points I wanted to make have been very well made already. I want to touch on a couple of other aspects of the fire service nationally. Dave Carroll, who is the chief fire officer for County Tipperary and the president of the Chief Fire Officers Association, recently told the association's annual conference that the recruitment and retention of firefighters is a major concern nationally. He said in his speech the association must:

acknowledge the very real difficulties that our retained services are facing in terms of recruitment and retention of personnel. Notwithstanding the incredible commitment given to our communities by members of the retained fire service, it is clear that the current model is not fit for purpose. This model essentially places our fire-fighters on call 24/7 for 365 days a year with limited time off outside of this.

In many parts of the country where part-time arrangements are necessary, part-time firefighters are expected to live very close to their fire stations, which limits the kind of work they can get outside firefighting. Mr. Carroll continued:

This model evolved back in the 1950s and 60s and is patently unsuitable for today's lifestyle. The increased urbanisation of Ireland presents further challenges as primary employment migrates from the villages and towns to the larger urban centres. If one thing is abundantly clear it is that there is no easy solution, but neither is there an option to do nothing - the system is not far from falling over so we must arrest that fall, and arrest it now.

Those are not my words, or the words of someone making a political charge. Those are the words of the chief fire officer for County Tipperary, who is the president of the national Chief Fire Officers Association. His comments speak for themselves. The serious problem he has highlighted needs to be addressed. We expect part-time firemen to live nearby and to be on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This seriously limits their potential to earn a living, especially as the income provided to part-time firefighters is quite modest.

I would like to mention another issue that has emerged lately. We need the 218 fire stations in this country because the first responders based in them do an excellent job in fire prevention and, when tragic cases arise, in making sure loss of life, injury and damage to property are limited. The Department is proposing to close Ballyshannon and Bundoran fire stations in south Donegal and to replace them with a single station. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, to raise this matter personally with the Department and to respond to me. The two stations in question, which are serving the local area very well, sadly respond to many calls throughout the year. There was a significant tragedy in Bundoran in 1980, when ten people lost their lives in a fire at the Central Hotel. A whole family was wiped out. Indeed, such was the extent of the fire that one body was never found.

In 2009, a Fianna Fáil-led Government approved the construction of two new fire stations for both towns and both communities. The stations cover a very wide catchment. Indeed, Ballyshannon is the only fire station in the South that provides cover in Northern Ireland. There are several stations in Northern Ireland, including those in Derry and Strabane, that provide cover to the South from the North. Ballyshannon is the only fire station in the South that provides cover in the North. The area it covers stretches into north Leitrim and north Sligo and up towards central Donegal. The original 2009 plan, which was approved by the Department and the Government of the day, involved the construction of two new fire stations. That was the policy of the council. An expert report that was published recently was agnostic on the need to close one of the stations. It simply referred to response times. The community in this part of the country will not accept the stripping out of services and the closure of critical infrastructure of this kind. The Taoiseach and his colleagues, including the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, and Deputies in Sligo and the north west, appear for weekly photo calls to announce plans for things like Ireland 2040. At the same time, it is delivering the closure of critical infrastructure like Ballyshannon fire station. I ask the Minister of State to look into this retrograde decision and do all he can to have it reversed.

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