David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Again, I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, and the Minister of State at the Department, Deputy English, who are unavailable this morning. They and I know the Senator has had a long-standing interest in the matter of a new fire station for Crossmolina and I thank her for raising the issue at this time.

The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Act 1981. The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government supports fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding support for equipment and priority infrastructural projects.

I acknowledge the hard work, service and commitment of all those who work in our fire authorities around the country, particularly those on the front line. The Government remains committed to supporting the fire service and the essential and invaluable service it provides. We will continue to support local authorities and firefighters through a range of important initiatives, including the provision of funding under the fire services capital programme for equipment and buildings. In February 2016, the Government announced its five-year fire services capital programme with an allocation of €40 million, based on an annual €8 million allocation to be used for new fire appliances, specialist equipment, fire stations, communications systems and training centres. The five-year programme included proposals for 26 fire stations, 16 new builds and ten upgrades. Mayo County Council has prioritised a new fire station project in Crossmolina and this is included as part of this programme under the list of priority projects to be progressed in 2020. This important project will replace the existing station in the town and I understand the county council is currently updating the design and cost plan. It anticipates these will be ready by the end of this year. The Department awaits these documents and, once received, it will work closely with the county council to progress the project as quickly as possible.

As the Senator will know, the fire service in Mayo serves one of the largest fire authority areas in the country, employing 120 firefighters across 12 fire stations and responding to 765 call-outs in 2017. Castlebar is the location of the central fire station. Crossmolina provides initial cover for an area of approximately 750 sq. km with a population in excess of 4,000 inhabitants. The station responded to 70 call-outs in 2017. Ballina, Ballyhaunis and Kiltimagh fire stations are also included in a further list of stations to be considered in annual reviews during the five-year capital programme. The Department is also awaiting updated cost plans from the county council for the upgrading work to be undertaken at these fire stations. In order to maximise the available capital programme funding, the Department reassesses the status of projects in the capital programme annually. This means there is some flexibility normally available to advance projects that are ready to go and that offer the best value for money, taking account of the state of readiness of projects more generally. In summary, this important project will be progressed without delay once the necessary plans are received from the county council.