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

The firefighters have been to the WRC numerous times and have still not been able to reach a solution. The firefighters are telling me that they are willing to work with Cork City Council. Billy Crowley, who is one of the firefighters, said they want to resolve this issue. Having retained staff is not going to work in Ballincollig. They need full-time staff with the Ballincollig fire station reopened. Why has Cork City Council been insistent for almost three years on trying to recruit retained staff? These are on-call firefighters. In 2023 in the town of Ballincollig, which is now part of Cork city, those people do not work in the village like they did in the old days. They could be working for Apple in Ringaskiddy or in Little Island. This model does not work. We want Cork City Council to put what it has to offer on the table and engage with the workers. I gave a figure. The existing cohort of fire staff is the same now as it was in 1975, which is 48 years ago. How can that be right?

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