Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The contingency plans are cutting it very fine for something so important. On the retained firefighters - and I want the Minister come back on this - this is a 24-7 commitment, 365 days a year. That huge sacrifice impacts on their professional careers, their ability to get mortgages and loans and it ties them physically to the towns and villages they are in. The cost of a fully staffed fire station would be substantially more than what we have with the retained service. The role is becoming increasingly less attractive. They are paid €700 a month giving an average income of €13,000 per year. If people anywhere in the country have a fire in their home, they expect a service to be there as soon as possible, yet we expect this service to operate at those levels. What assurances can the Minister give to ensure this dispute will be resolved?

On the broader, wider asks the union movement and civil society have on water, will he give a commitment on a referendum around public ownership of water? We have a referendum planned this year on care. Will we have one on water and indeed one on housing, which is also part of his brief?

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