Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Fire brigade staff in Cork have raised concerns with me, Deputy Ó Laoghaire and local councillors on the ground about their ability to ensure there is a proper fire service in Cork. There are currently three pumps in operation in Cork, with 18 crewing on a 24-7 basis. Once there were 18 staff covering a population of 126,000 but they are now expected to cover a population of over 240,000 as a result of the boundary extension of Cork city. Within the same area, they used four full-time pumps.

Ballincollig fire station closed in November 2021 and has not yet reopened. Last July saw 300 fires responded to by the fire brigade in Cork. They do Trojan work and save lives regularly, in addition to businesses and homes, and they need the pump in Ballincollig reopened. The staff who man it tell me they are overstretched, causing difficulties for them. The council keeps pointing to a recruitment campaign for retained staff to reopen the service but the reality is that this has failed.

The campaign has been running since October 2020 - almost three years - but the council has yet to hire a single retained staff member. We need full-time staff and Ballincollig fire station needs to be reopened. Will the Minister of State provide funding for that and give the firefighters of Cork that commitment?

The fire station closed in November 2021, just days after the Government party councillors voted to cut the fire service budget in Cork City Council. Is that a coincidence? At last night's meeting of Cork City Council, a call for the reopening of Ballincollig fire station was unanimously passed by councillors from all parties and none who called on the Minister of State and the Government to provide the funding.

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