Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "acknowledges that:

— Retained Firefighters are highly committed frontline responders providing an exceptional service within their communities;

— the retained fire service has been shown to be highly effective in dealing with a wide range of emergencies, working closely with other emergency services;

— the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has directed the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management to complete a review of the recruitment, retention and future sustainability of the retained fire service, with the findings and recommendations of this review to be submitted to the Minister in December 2022; and

— the preliminary findings of the current review clearly demonstrate the need to adapt the existing service delivery model, to enable a good work-life balance for Retained Firefighters and to promote the strengths inherent in the retained fire service;

recognises that:

— fire service policy in Ireland is based on Keeping Communities Safe - A Framework For Fire safety in Ireland, that sets out a risk management approach to service provision, defining fire service roles, response standards and service delivery structures;

— it is clear from the preliminary findings of the current review that the work-life balance for Retained Firefighters needs to be addressed to make the retained fire service an attractive employment option, and this will require significant redesign of the current rostering model;

— it is also clear that while there is a need to address the problems being encountered in attracting and retaining Retained Firefighters generally, a focus needs to be placed on ensuring that the retained fire service is seen as a career where women too can develop and have a satisfying career;

— comprehensive updates on the progress of the report have been positively received by the Fire Services National Oversight and Implementation Group (FSNOIG), with broad agreement that the survey outcomes are reflective of previous feedback received directly from retained fire service members;

— the FSNOIG remains the appropriate forum for feedback on the review and implementation of the recommendations; and

— implementing the recommendations of this review should commence as soon as possible at national and local level, with an emphasis on continued engagement with all stakeholders; and

notes that:

— while there is significant urgency in moving forward with the implementation of this review's recommendations, the capacity and the resilience of the fire service has been shown to be robust through an external validation process in 2016, and a capacity review in 2020;

— while the recruitment and retention issues are serious, it is important nevertheless to place these issues in the context of a service that has repeatedly been shown to be operationally ready and resilient, as demonstrated by the very strong response by the retained fire service throughout the Covid-19 public health emergency;

— retained fire services operate an Incident Command System supported by standard operating guidelines, with appropriate risk control measures, which underpin the highest levels of operational safety to protect fire crews responding into hazardous situations;

— a figure of 4.3 deaths per million of population of fire fatalities positions Ireland among countries with very low fire fatality rates;

— the Fire Service Capital Programme 2021-2025 is in place, supporting the construction of new fire stations, procurement of fire appliances and necessary equipment, with an allocation of €61 million; and

— the number of frontline fire service staff have been maintained at a consistently high level, even at a time when staffing numbers were, of necessity, reduced in other areas of local authorities, and there are currently 218 fire stations throughout the country with 3,245 serving fire service personnel, of whom 1,206 are full-time and 2,039 are retained on a 24-hours a day basis."

I thank Deputy Brady and his colleagues for tabling this motion and providing time for this debate. I welcome the members of the retained service who are here this evening in the Gallery.

It is an important debate. As many of those present know, I have had a real admiration for and interest in the work of our fire services for many years - long before I ever had ministerial responsibility for this aspect of my portfolio. It is an area of responsibility that I retain directly and one that I take very seriously. I visit fire stations on a regular basis. I meet firefighters, senior management and local authorities. I always take the time to talk and to listen. I will address many of the issues that have been raised here this evening. I want to see how things are working on the ground and ask what I as Minister and my Department can do to improve things.

We have 2,065 retained firefighters in this country. We have just over 1,200 permanent firefighters, who deserve to be supported. As Minister with responsibility for the fire service, I am acutely aware that retained firefighters provide an invaluable service that is essential to their own communities and to the public. There is no doubt but that retained firefighters, first and foremost, save lives, prevent damage to residential and commercial property, protect critical infrastructure and safeguard our environment. The work of these brave men and women is dangerous, physically challenging and psychologically demanding. Our firefighters are an elite front-line service staffed by dedicated and selfless people serving their communities around the clock all year round.

This was reinforced to me as I closely followed the response of the fire service in Donegal, which is a retained service, in the aftermath of the Creeslough tragedy. Like everyone here, I witnessed their dedication and courage and saw the training and professionalism in action, dealing with the devastating destruction that impacted the heart of that community in Creeslough. The response to this terrible tragedy involved a tremendous co-operative effort between fire services, An Garda Síochána, the National Ambulance Service, the Coast Guard, Donegal County Council staff, HSE staff and colleagues across the Border as well. It demonstrated to me that the systems we have in place in the form of the guidance document, A Framework for Major Emergency Management, work. Its principles guide those who manage the various intricate strands of co-ordination necessary to ensure an effective response to such incidents. I again take this opportunity to convey my deepest condolences to those who lost family and friends, and genuinely thank all of those who were involved in the rescue operations.

I am acutely aware of the very significant challenges associated with both retention and recruitment of retained fire personnel being experienced in some areas around the country. As Minister with responsibility, I took note of comments that came out of the review that was undertaken of all fire services to identify lessons, review good practice and assess resilience measures during the response to the public health emergency. This report, Response, Recovery and Resilience, presented to the management board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, NDFEM, highlighted the common challenges being shared by many fire services in recruitment and retention of retained firefighters and the urgent need to review the model of service delivery. As a result, I requested the management board of the national directorate to undertake such a review, the terms of which were agreed by the board. I am pleased to inform the House that a report detailing the findings of this review is in the final stages of preparation. That was based on meetings, collaborative discussions and engagement with key stakeholders, most importantly, the staff and management representatives in the retained fire services themselves. This process was underpinned by the pre-existing structures and relationships that we have between the local authorities and the NDFEM. It would concern me somewhat if there was any doubt about the consultation involved when this process was undertaken. We must now move towards implementation. At the outset, a quantitative survey was carried out of retained firefighters to evaluate their role and seek their opinions of the retained fire service. Of those surveyed, more than 900 retained personnel responded, including 869 current members and approximately 65 who had recently retired.

My Department and I have always been conscious of the need to fully engage with retained firefighters and their representatives, together with the employer side. These matters have implications for both sides. The national directorate has worked closely with the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, and has engaged on numerous occasions with the fire services national oversight and implementation group, FSNOIG, which Members know is chaired by David Begg. For those who are not familiar with it, the formation of this oversight and implementation group was at the request of SIPTU, which is the union mandated to represent retained firefighters. I have met the group and SIPTU representatives as well. Its establishment was greeted by staff representatives as a "means by which our members in both the full-time and retained fire services will have full participation in the future development of a modern, effective and efficient fire and rescue service." An overview of the findings of this review have been shared with staff representatives through FSNOIG and with the NDFEM management board, and they have been broadly welcomed. Implementing the recommendations of the retained review is an absolute priority for me. This will require a sequence of steps that will include the development of a new model for service delivery with rostered time off for retained firefighters to improve their work-life balance. I believe this is the best course of action.

The opportunity must now be given for engagement with all sides to ensure we have a fire service model that works for the public it serves and ensures that all retained firefighters have an appropriate work-life balance. That will allow us to attract new recruits into the service and retain the very valuable experience of staff within the retained fire services. While the recommendations of this review have yet to be approved, an overview of the findings have been shared with staff representatives and with the board. The findings point to some very challenging issues in terms of structure, culture and service delivery. It is clear that issues in relation to work-life balance, rostering models, area-risk categorisation and pay and conditions are all ones that now need to be addressed.

The activity levels within the service are also challenging, with 76% of stations responding to fewer than three calls per week, and the trend of incident levels dropping over the longer term. This impacts on the salary that can be earned by retained firefighters. The most striking finding revealed by research on the profile of the workforce is the shockingly low level of participation by female firefighters, at less than 2%. I believe that a focus now needs to be placed on ensuring that the retained fire service is seen as an attractive option in which women can develop a career.

My Department continues its support for all fire services in Ireland, with a new capital programme of €61 million over five years. This will continue to support the building of 12 new fire stations already under way, the provision of a further six new fire stations, as well as nine station refurbishments. In order to maintain a reliable fleet in optimal condition, a total of €27.7 million has been allocated for fire appliances, which will be delivered in two tranches. In the first tranche, 35 new appliances will be provided at an approximate cost of €16 million. The NDFEM is currently working with the Office of Government Procurement on a potential extension of the fire appliance scheme, to run from May 2023 to May 2025, with a further budget of €17 million. A further €5 million will support the procurement of other fire and rescue equipment and €2 million has been allocated to further progress the Ctrí programme, the new command and control system for 999 call answering.

My Department also continuously works with local authorities on the training of all firefighters. While I fully respect the bona fides of the points put across, I reject one comment that has been made this evening. Plant and equipment are crucially important. We must make sure that stations are upgraded, new stations are built and that firefighters, both full-time and retained, have access to the best equipment possible and that we expand it. It is not the case that it is of no use. We accept the issues identified in the review. The recommendations following on from it will shortly be published.

There are the issues with pay and conditions. There are issues with rostering to ensure a proper work-life balance and that we have a mechanism that means the service is seen as attractive to new entrants. That is what I want to happen and it is why we will proceed quickly with the full publication of those recommendations. We will work them through to implementation with management and most importantly with staff and staff representatives, who have engaged in this process heretofore. I am very serious about seeing this through towards implementation and I welcome support from Deputies across the House for the implementation of improved pay and conditions and rostering. The way to do that is not by kicking it off to the joint committee. Much of that work has been done already with regard to the review itself, the high-level recommendations of which have been given to staff representatives. It is now about getting that published and working through the recommendations there to see how quickly we can implement them.

I hope my bona fides in this regard are there for people to see. We have ensured we have a capital plan. It is so important the equipment our firefighters use and the stations they work out of are of the standard required in modern-day Ireland. We now want to ensure staff themselves have the pay, rostering and work conditions they deserve and I am committed to doing that. I am happy to work with Members across the House and with firefighters across the country. I meet them regularly and met some as recently as yesterday during my visit to Kilkenny. I commend them on the work they do and want to see those recommendations through to implementation.

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