Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join everyone else in congratulating the Ireland cricket team. It is a great day for the country.

I wish to raise concerns regarding plans to reduce the number of firefighters by one or two per fire appliance.Members of our fire service place themselves in peril daily to serve the needs of their communities. Reducing the numbers on fire appliances places communities and the firemen themselves at risk. The Leader will be aware that members of the Dublin fire service marched yesterday from Parnell Square to the Dáil to raise their concerns. I am told that a typical fire crew consists of one commander, one operator, two firemen who engage in rescue service and two who remain outside the building for standby purposes. I trained in the use of breathing apparatus many years ago and I am acutely aware of how important it is that firemen can get in and out of dangerous situations without placing themselves at risk. Reducing the size of fire crews on appliances places not just the firemen, but also communities, at risk. Members of the fire service have been asking for details of a risk assessment that has apparently been carried out to support this reduction and no such assessment has been made available to them. There is evidence from the UK that reducing the number of active firemen on an appliance has caused serious injury and loss of life among firemen. This concerns the firemen in this country. I spoke to representatives of SIPTU this morning. It will be conducting a ballot of its members in light of the fact that the memo from the Department is about to be executed. Will the Leader either bring the Minister before the Seanad to outline what risk assessment has been carried out and what the results of this assessment are, or will he bring a copy of the assessment to the House himself, so that we can pass it on to the relevant fire services? This is a matter of great urgency and I ask him to deal with it as quickly as possible.