Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

expresses its admiration and appreciation to the Retained Firefighters who keep our communities safe across the country at huge personal sacrifice to themselves;

recognises:

— that Retained Firefighters are restricted from travelling outside a radius of as low as 2.5 kilometres of their station without first obtaining permission, which has a huge negative impact on their own and their families' lives;

— the very great commitment they make to be local and available, to train approximately 100 hours per annum alongside additional training requirements, and ultimately to run into a burning building and save lives; and

— that they provide this invaluable service and make these commitments in exchange for a guaranteed income of as little as €8,696 per annum;

notes with concern that:

— recruitment and retention levels in the retained fire services are beyond crisis point, as confirmed in the Government's most recent review which stated that 58 per cent of current Retained Firefighters said they were likely to leave the service within the next three years;

— due to current staffing shortages, the demands being placed upon current members of the Retained Firefighters and their families are unsustainable; and

— the ongoing failure to address the problems of the retained fire service is placing the health and safety of its members, and the public in danger;

condemns:

— the lack of action and political leadership from Minister Darragh O'Brien TD to resolve these issues, which have led to the retention and recruitment crisis in the retained fire services;

— the failure of the Government to meaningfully engage with representative bodies acting on behalf of the Retained Firefighters, which has forced the National Retained Firefighters Association to engage in industrial action; and

— the approach of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O'Brien TD, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, which demonstrates zero appreciation of the huge dedication and sacrifice of our Retained Firefighters; and

calls on the Government to:

— urgently engage with representative bodies acting on behalf of the Retained Firefighters to avert an escalation of industrial action;

— bring forward a financial investment package which allows for the creation of a new framework for service delivery for retained fire services, and provides for increased remuneration and better conditions for current and future members; and

— immediately issue guidance to all fire authorities in respect of operational resources, including minimum staffing levels relative to the risk, various types of employee leave and standardised recruitment processes.

I welcome to the Gallery members of the fire services and retained fire services from a number of stations throughout the country. Needless to say, they are men and women who daily put their lives at risk to keep us, our families and our communities safe, and they deserve our deepest respect and gratitude. However, given the circumstances surrounding this debate, I would say that the men and women of the retained fire services are not particularly interested in whether they get gratitude from anybody on the floor of the Dáil. What they want is the crisis in the service in which they risk their lives to be fixed as a matter of urgency.

There is a terrible sense of déjà vuto this discussion. The Minister will remember we had the same conversation last November. At that time, there was such a level of frustration and anger among the front-line workers in the fire services that they had initiated the process of balloting for industrial action. When last November they protested outside Leinster House and many of us, both in government and in opposition, went to speak to them, they highlighted a number of key issues. They highlighted the appallingly low level of pay that many of them experience and the unacceptable organisation of rosters that makes it virtually impossible for many of them to have a decent standard of living, let alone quality of life. They also highlighted the crisis of recruitment and retention, the at times dangerously low levels of staff on duty, and the need for that to be fixed.

The Minister responded last year and I will quote his response. He said, "I have had a real admiration for and interest in the work of our fire services for many years", which I do not doubt for a moment. In his concluding remarks, he said that what was then required was the publication of the report, which was subsequently published in December. He also said that what was required was the working through of the recommendations to see how quickly they could be implemented. He went on to state, "We now want to ensure staff themselves have the pay, rostering and work conditions they deserve and I am committed to doing that." We are now seven months on and the frustration and anger of the men and women in question is now so great that they have balloted for and initiated industrial action. Not a single one of those people who voted for industrial action wants to be taking it. These are people who put their lives on the line for us. They do not want to be in the Gallery or to be taking industrial action. They want to be out doing their jobs. The problem is that progress has been virtually non-existent. That is why my colleague Deputy John Brady, who as part of his portfolio leads for Sinn Féin on this issue, has tabled a motion reiterating the need for the Government to take emergency action. This is not a new issue. It has been around since 2005 and 2018. It has been around since the latter part of last year. Our motion simply calls for the Government to engage directly with the representative bodies and to bring forward a financial package and new framework for service delivery to provide for increased remuneration and better conditions for current and future members. It also calls for the immediate issuance of guidance for all fire authorities in respect of operational resources, including minimum staffing levels relative to the risk for various types of employees, leave and standardised recruitment.

Only a few hours ago, the Government tabled its countermotion. There had been some expectation, and there still is, that the Government was going to say something significant today. However, there is nothing significant in the countermotion whatsoever. It simply restates the position the Minister stated last year. I hope, not for my sake or that of Deputy Brady or any of my other colleagues but for the men and women represented here and paying attention across the country, that the Minister will give us some indication as to when those eminently reasonable demands around pay, rostering, recruitment and retention, and safety will be addressed. Failure to do that will see this industrial action escalate, not because anybody in the retained fire services wants to be involved in industrial action but because of the Government's failure to act. We will listen intently to the Minister. We want to know when he will act and what he will do to end the crisis in our fire services that has lasted for decades.

See this speech in context