Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has certainly put forward a very strong case for this type of co-operation. It is important, particularly as we have come through the Covid-19 crisis, which has highlighted significant challenges in rural areas. I am very familiar with that part of the country.

To begin, I should clarify that the provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003. My Department supports fire authorities by establishing policy, setting national standards for fire safety and fire service provision, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects.

Fire services are provided in Ireland by local authorities in accordance with the provisions of the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003. Under this legislation, there are 31 local authorities that provide fire prevention and fire protection services for communities through 27 service delivery structures. Local authority fire services are delivered by approximately 3,300 local authority staff engaged at 217 fire stations nationwide, with 16 of these stations being staffed by full-time firefighters. A further four are mixed full-time and retained and 197 are staffed by retained firefighters.

Responsibility for the provision of emergency medical services, including pre-hospital emergency care, rests with the HSE, which operates the National Ambulance Service and emergency departments in hospitals in accordance with health sector legislation and national policy. Fire authorities created under section 10 of the Fire Services Act 1981 and 2003 are empowered under section 25 of that legislation to carry out or assist in any operation of an emergency nature.

The National Ambulance Service, NAS, may call for assistance before its crews reach an incident and many fire services are equipped with automatic external defibrillators. The majority of fire services have trained their firefighters in cardiac first responder and emergency first responder to Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council standards for health and safety reasons. Fire services personnel in many fire stations are, therefore, already trained and equipped to a standard that could enable them to respond to life threatening emergencies. Given the infrastructure of fire services around the country and particularly in rural locations, the retained firefighters service is well placed to assist the HSE with responses to such life-threatening emergency calls.

As the Minister of State with policy and legislative responsibility for fire safety and the provision of fire services by local authorities, a primary concern must remain, in accordance with the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003, that local authority-provided fire services are meeting their statutory obligations in respect of their primary role in the provision of fire services and fire safety. These responsibilities include the important activity of community and other fire safety initiatives as well as response to fire and emergency calls such as road traffic accidents, river rescues, chemical or hazardous spills for example. Fire services generally respond to calls for assistance from external bodies in accordance with protocols operated within the three fire services regional communications centres.

The feasibility of fire services, outside the Dublin Fire Brigade area of operations, being commissioned by the HSE to provide a response service in support of the NAS in responding to life-threatening emergency calls was discussed at national level at the fire services national oversight and implementation group, which consists of fire services management and staff representatives, and it produced a discussion document as the basis to underpin discussions with the health sector. The document was discussed at the management board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management in July 2018 where a number of issues including the transfer of risk and mechanisms for funding were raised, and these remain as items of discussion with the Department of Health.

Any proposal for formalising this assistance would need to be subject to appropriate governance and cost reimbursement arrangements and to be set in the context of a service agreement with the HSE and the National Ambulance Service, which would not impact on or adversely affect fire services' primary roles.

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