Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In his reply, the Minister noted the problems that have arisen over recent years. As has been outlined, in the Castlerea area is the Harmac factory, the prison, a mart and various businesses. This does not only affect Castlerea. The service is needed not only for the town but also for surrounding areas. I live in County Galway but fire services go across borders in rural areas. Castlerea is 12 miles from my home. The next nearest station is 16 miles away. Everything is okay until something goes wrong. That is the big problem in rural areas. We can show there is a need for a fire service in the area.

What happened happened. There is no point in saying anything different. It was an industrial relations dispute. A huge amount was spent trying to resolve it but it seems it was not possible to resolve. People were brought in from different areas to try to resolve it. There is now a report saying a fire service is not required in the area. We do need a fire service in the area and I ask the Minister to look at it again.

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