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

I thank my constituency colleague for raising this issue which she has consistently done in this Chamber, as have a number of other Deputies. As she has said, there had been some counties where existing resources have been utilised.

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. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for equipment and priority infrastructural projects. The number of front-line fire service staff have been maintained at a consistent high level throughout the economic challenges of the past number of years, even at a time when staffing numbers were, of necessity, reduced in other areas of the local authorities.

The external validation group, EVG, report 2016 was the first of a new external validation process on fire risk management in Ireland arising from implementation of Keeping Communities Safe: A Framework for Fire Safety in Ireland. It reported conclusions on the four specific areas of inquiry - area risk categorisation; fire safety and fire service operations; major emergency management; and health and safety management. The report concludes with an overview of themes and issues before making some recommendations for future directions. The EVG report concluded that the available evidence provides for confidence regarding the match of fire service capability with the assessed fire risk.

A capacity review to capture lessons learned, review good practice and assess resilience of the fire services during the Covid-19 pandemic was completed in 2020. Response, Resilience and Recovery: A Review of the Impact of Covid-19 on Irish Fire Services reported many strengths and the outstanding commitment and effort of front-line teams, and made recommendations which are being implemented, which the Deputy acknowledged in her contribution.

On policy, a review of the retained fire services delivery model is currently being undertaken. The review of the model will reflect the current circumstances with the aim of ensuring its effectiveness into the future as part of the local authority. The objective is to explore issues and their impacts, diagnose the situation and propose options towards solutions which will underpin future local authority fire service provision.

Finally, the fire services capital programme forms part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage's strategy to support the fire authorities in the development and maintenance of a quality fire-fighting and rescue service. The Department recently announced a new fire services capital programme for the period 2021-2025, with a funding allocation of €61 million. This new programme will see six new fire stations built, continued support for the construction of a further 12 new fire stations, nine fire station refurbishments as well as the allocation of 35 new fire appliances or engines.

Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As the Deputy has said, it is essential that we use all of the existing resources that are available to us, particularly in those life-threatening emergency situations. I hope that this response gives the Deputy some indication of our commitment towards that.

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