Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on the motion. I thank Sinn Féin for giving us the opportunity to talk about this very important matter with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell.

We have great firefighters in Kerry and we need them. We need them to stay in their jobs. Right around the Ring of Kerry, from Sneem, Kenmare, Killarney, Cahersiveen, Killorglin, Listowel to Tralee, we depend so much on these brave men and women for the great work that they do. I put it to the Minister that their work is not only fires; it is also serious accidents and tragedies. They deal with hill climbers and people on the lakes. There is something happening all of the time and we need these trained people who have expertise in their jobs. Sadly, there are no Mother Teresas now and they need to be properly paid.

Another issue highlighted to me is that these people are supposed to be part time, but they cannot live on that part-time money. Sometimes they must have other income because they must keep going and keep their families going. The few extra bob they get puts them into the higher tax bracket. The Government needs to do something about that to ensure the payment they get as firefighters should be sacrosanct and should not be taxed, or they should get some special treatment for that money, so it is not added onto the other income they have. What they are getting for firefighting is a pittance when one takes the tax out of the extra money if they go into the higher tax bracket.

We need these people - people like Teddy McCarthy in Sneem who knows the terrain and knows everything that goes on in the whole district he works in. These people cannot go more than 3 km from their homes. It is like being shackled to the bed. If they are putting their children to bed and their buzzer goes off and the wife is gone to the shop, what do they do? If they are putting their mother or father to bed, what do they do? They must drop everything and take to the road and make themselves available to help other people and to save other lives. We must appreciate these people. They have to be properly paid and the Government must do something about the tax they are paying on the extra money that they get.

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