Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as an gceist seo. The provision of fire services in a 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 and 2003. My Department supports fire authorities by establishing policy, setting national standards for fire safety and service provision, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects.

My Department recently announced a new fire services capital programme for the period covering 2021 to 2025, with a funding allocation of €61 million. Following extensive engagement with the fire authorities, a number of proposals for station works and so on were received. The proposals were evaluated and prioritised on the basis of: the area risk categorisation of the fire station, which relates to population, fire risks and so on; established health and safety needs; the state of development of the project, which relates to whether a site has been acquired and so on; and the value for money offered by the proposal. The new programme will see six replacement fire stations built, continued support for the construction of a further 12 fire station projects, nine fire station refurbishments and the allocation of 35 new fire engines. In order to optimise the use of the available capital programme funding, my Department reassesses the status of projects in the programme annually. Some flexibility is normally available to advance projects that are ready and that offer best value for money, taking account of the state of readiness of projects more generally.All requests for funding from my Department's fire services capital programme are considered promptly and have regard to local authorities' own priorities, consistency with national policy, the value for money offered by proposals and the totality of requests from fire authorities.

Project consideration stages in my Department include submission of preliminary and detailed appraisals, submission of design brief, selection of site, application for approval in principle, appointment of design consultants, submission of a preliminary design, planning application, submission of preliminary cost plan, detailed design and cost plans and tender process and construction stages. Each step is subject to approval from the Department.

Monaghan County Council has indicated that a new fire station at Ballybay is a priority and is included in the list of proposed new-build fire stations under the 2021 to 2025 capital programme. My Department received a detailed cost plan for this project on 24 September, outlining an estimated total build cost of €1.7 million. This proposal is currently under consideration and my Department will continue working with the council to progress this project.

I thank the Senator for raising the matter, along with Councillor Coyle and members of Monaghan County Council. We will certainly give it the highest priority and it is on the list for the capital programme. It will therefore be given due assessment in that regard.