Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ballincollig is a place that has grown from not much more than a village 40 or 50 years ago to one of the biggest towns in Ireland. There are well over 20,000 people there and when the census results come out, there could be 25,000 people. The fire service has been there for much of that time but the growth in the area has significantly overtaken the station. It is important to understand this, and not only in the context of Ballincollig. It is very important for Ballincollig and its outlying area. It is a crucial piece of the jigsaw. Since Ballincollig has come into the functional area of Cork City Council, it is a key part of the jigsaw of the whole city's fire service and each station assists each other. It is a city of 200,000 people or more and each service has a crucial role to play.

The staff there are pulling their hair out. The station has been closed since November 2021. When you boil it down, we are talking about a closed fire station. They are concerned for their own situation and the implications for the safety of the people of Cork. We are coming into the summer, which is potentially the most hazardous part of the year and a time when they might have the most issues to respond to. Upcoming occasions like bonfire night will be very busy for the fire service. When they are overstretched, it presents a threat to their own safety and welfare so this is crucially important.

Clearly, the retained firefighter model is not working for Ballincollig. I am not sure if it is particularly practical in any community but in a place like Ballincollig where most people are working full-time in multinational corporations and so on, it is not always that easy to find an arrangement with your employer that allows you to be on call. It clearly has not worked because the recruitment has not been successful and they have not been able to take on any staff over the course of this period. It has led to a situation where we have a closed fire station. A building that could serve Ballincollig and a significant chunk of the city and protect people's welfare is not available as a resource. We want the council to come forward with a recommendation. If it does, will the Minister of State sanction additional full-time staff?

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