Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to start by thanking Senator Keogan for raising what is a very important issue. It is important we discuss this in advance of any potential action. The provision of a fire service in its functional area, as the Senator will be aware, 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 Service Acts 1981 and 2003. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage supports fire authorities by establishing policy, setting national standards for fire safety and fire service provision, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects and the procurement of essential front-line fire appliances and equipment.

Under the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003, 31 local authorities provide fire prevention and fire protection services for communities through 27 service delivery structures. Local authority fire services are delivered by approximately 3,300 local authority staff engaged at 217 fire stations nationwide, with 16 of these stations being staffed by full-time firefighters, a further four are a mix of full-time and retained, and 197 are staffed solely by retained firefighters.

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is aware of the challenges associated with the recruitment and retention of retained fire personnel experienced by some local authorities. That is the reason the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, directed the management board of the national directorate for fire and emergency management, NDFEM, to review the delivery and sustainability of the local authority retained fire services, with particular emphasis on the recruitment and retention of staff. That review was published in December 2022 and is entitled, Retained Fire Services in Ireland - A Review of Recruitment and Retention and the Future Sustainability of Service Delivery.

Following the dissolution of discussions at an independently chaired facilitation forum on priority industrial relations issues identified in the report, SIPTU has notified all local authority chief executives that retained firefighters intend to begin industrial action from 6 June, with phased weekly escalations of actions to follow on 13 June and 20 June.In preparation for proposed industrial action, officials from the national directorate for fire and emergency management in the Minister's Department, working closely with the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA and chief fire officers, have prepared a guidance document for local authorities. This is based on the provisions of the 1992 code of practice, SI 1 of 1992, the Industrial Relations Act, 1990, Code of Practice on Dispute Procedures (Declaration) Order 1992, to ensure a consistent approach to managing the consequences of industrial action in the retained fire services through establishing effective contingency arrangements to ensure a fire service response, proactively ensuring the health, safety and well-being of staff, and protecting communities to the maximum extent possible during the dispute.

The guidance aims to provide a consistent approach to planning for the contingency provision of emergency fire cover by local authorities for the duration of the industrial action period. To this end, senior fire service management is meeting with local SIPTU representative committees in each local authority to establish agreed local contingency measures. SIPTU has confirmed, in response to the LGMA, that the provisions of the 1992 code of practice on dispute procedures, including essential services, enabling co-operation and contingency planning and the continued provision of essential services, will be adhered to by all SIPTU members during the course of this dispute.

The following principles have been agreed with SIPTU and should be implemented for the duration of the dispute by staff and management: public safety will be safeguarded by staff and management at all times during the dispute as a top priority; there will be no compromise in the fire service health and safety measures; and, given these constraints, management will engage locally to enable firefighters to take industrial action, recognising non-engagement in work that is not urgent or essential for the duration of this dispute. In addition, a national fire safety awareness campaign will run over traditional and social media for the duration of the proposed industrial action to reinforce home fire safety messaging.