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

SIPTU has committed to that, in line with the 1992 Act, and we should not stand up in this House and allude to people that if there is a fire emergency, the fire service will not attend. I will get to my point about the retained fire service. I deal with the retained fire service in Kildare and know how it needs to be treated better. However, let us not scaremonger in the House and try to tell people that if there is a serious fire incident, the good men and women of the fire service will not respond because, through their representative body, they have committed to doing so.

What is clear from the findings of the retained review report is that the work-life balance of retained firefighters need to be addressed. I absolutely accept that, as does the Government. Work is under way through agreed structures to begin implementing the recommendations set out in the report to ensure the sustainability of the retained fire service as an attractive employment option. I do not doubt how hard it was for retained firefighters to make the decision to seek industrial action. We respect that it will do that and recognise that the non-emergency element will not be dealt with during the dispute period. During the most recent discussions between management and SIPTU, substantial progress was made in addressing the work-life balance concerns of retained firefighters, as acknowledged by SIPTU.

A positive conclusion of the process to the satisfaction of all parties has not been possible to date. However, management remains available to recommence discussions with a view to resolving outstanding industrial relations matters. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, encourages all parties to use the agreed industrial relations processes set out in the Building Momentum pay agreement to bring matters to a satisfactory conclusion as soon as possible.