Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, Deputy Brady, for all of his work. I welcome the men and women of the retained fire service who are here with us and the many more who are watching. Every Deputy who has spoken has recognised the same point, that is, that there are many people who cannot be here by virtue of the fact that they are on call. They have to be close to their home places so that they can protect their communities.

The Minister of State sought to give us a little lecture on what he did and did not think was reasonable, but a reasonable Government would wake up to the statistic that 60% of retained firefighters were considering resigning or retiring in the next two years. They are not unreasonable people. In fact, they are some of the most flexible and reasonable people providing services in the State. A reasonable Government would take on board that statistic. A reasonable Government would be concerned. A reasonable Government would listen. A reasonable Government would be alert to the terms and conditions and the fact that these men and women were, in many instances, providing services on a shoestring. It is no wonder that we struggle to get people into the fire service and to retain them there, given that they are struggling to get simple things like a mortgage because of the way their wages are structured.

When the Minister was present, he told us that the firefighters kept their own communities safe. Last night, the fire services from my town of Skerries were in Donabate fighting a fire alongside crews from Kilbarrack and elsewhere in Dublin. Fire services come together. A fire service is not just a small service for a small community. The communities have expanded.

Firefighters do a professional job. They provide a first class service, yet all they are seeking is respect and decent terms and conditions. They cannot take applause or a pat on the back down to the supermarket and try to use it to pay for their groceries. They are looking for respect, decency and decent wages.

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