Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Brady on proposing the motion. He has a long history of advocacy on this issue. Credit must also go to the National Retained Firefighters Association of Ireland.

We debate health and emergency measures in the House regularly and the issues that occur in other areas are unfortunately relevant here too. Fire services are understaffed to dangerous levels and experienced firefighters are leaving at a rapid rate. The sacrifices we ask these individuals to make on our behalf are extreme and many face the risk of death and injury weekly. A poor work-life balance, bad conditions, and paltry pay all play a role in many walking away. With a guaranteed income of only €8,500, many find obtaining a mortgage a struggle. This is in a job where people are on call 24-7 and have fewer days off per year than do those in similar roles. This puts a massive strain on people and their families. I spoke to a firefighter from Kerry today who said he could be out in the car with his children and get a call, meaning his partner has to come to the station as well, so families are on call too. Pensions are poor and as a result progression is difficult, with a top-heavy management structure.

In Kerry there have been regular gorse, grass and bush fires. Radio Kerry reported that in one weekend last summer, nearly two thirds of calls were related to these types of fire. Firefighters must be supported when such events occur. There is a particular crisis with retention in Kerry. In larger towns like Tralee or Killarney there could be a number of calls but this decreases across the county. In addition, firefighters face difficulty when it comes to weather warnings as there are no nationally-agreed protocols on whether it is safe or not for them to work during such warnings. The national directorate has no representation of retained firefighters on it and there is a worrying element of confusion about the future of the service. This was added to by the Taoiseach who told my colleague, Deputy Stanley, the issues must be dealt with by the local authorities in the context of existing industrial relations mechanisms. However, more recently he changed his tune and questioned whether local authorities should have retained firefighters at all. That is not good enough for the public or for workers. We need an urgent review of pay and conditions on a cross-party basis and I call on all Kerry Deputies to support this motion.

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