Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for his intervention. As a former student of NUI Galway, I know the city very well.This is of critical importance, and that is why officials from our Department met with the chief executive of Galway City Council when this issue was raised. We assured him that once a site is found and an application is brought forward, we will give it the attention it deserves. These things take time, however, and we must be honest about this point in respect of the different stages in the process. We will, though, give this the attention required. As the Senator correctly said, our fire service is critical in keeping us all safe as we go about our daily lives. The service is often taken for granted, but those of us in public life know how important it is because we meet so many people who have been protected by it. I assure the Senator, therefore, that we will follow up on this issue and I will be happy to meet with the various stakeholders on a visit to Galway city and county.