Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has answered some questions today about the fire services. Whole-time retained fire officers earn only some €700 per month, which equates to 99 cent per hour. They are on call 24-7, 365 days of the year. They must stay within 3 km or five minutes of the station. They must do eight weeks of compulsory training in the first year. The Minister made a lot of promises to these people but now he is hiding from them. They are going on strike next week. The Minister said the Cabinet has signed off on a report he commissioned. Twenty-two years ago, Noel Dempsey, as Minister, said the fire service was in a crisis state. It is in a huge crisis now.

The Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, is giving two fingers to the Government. Who is in charge here? Is it the Government or the LGMA, which is refusing to go into meaningful negotiations? Less than €50 million would sort out this whole problem. It must be resolved out of respect for the people who save lives and put their own lives on the line every day of the week. I met a group of them last night in Bray, County Wicklow. We all remember what happened there some years ago.

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