Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

As we speak this morning, retained firefighters from all over the country are making their way to Connolly Station to join us here in about one hour's time. It is the second time in two weeks that I have had to raise the issue of retained firefighters in the Chamber. Last Monday, they were told there would be a very positive statement by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage during a debate on a motion tabled by Sinn Féin in the Lower House. The positive statement, as I read it, was that there would be a 20% increase in staffing levels across each station but when I talk to retained firefighters, they tell me that they cannot retain the staff they have in the stations as it stands, let alone try to recruit an additional 20%. As I said previously, retained firefighters have to live and work no more than 2.5 km from their fire station. In the town of Athy, I am aware of firefighters running through the streets to get to the fire station, to get to us and save us and that is the bottom line here. These people are absolutely essential to us all in our communities. References to a "positive statement" gave them all much hope last Monday. I was on the picket line with them last Tuesday and they were all of the view that the response would be good, that they would get a positive statement. They are devastated. They are absolutely devastated that the statement made was the best Minister could come up with. Something needs to change radically for them. We need to have a debate on the issue in this House. The Minister needs to realise that these people are adamant that they are losing women and men from the retained fire service because they cannot afford to live. I am dealing with a number of retained firefighters in relation to mortgages. The banks are laughing at these people coming through their doors because they do not have the funding to get a mortgage. That is the issue here. What is happening in our retained fire service is unbelievable. As I said earlier, retained firefighters are an integral part of our communities but unfortunately, the Government is turning its back on them vis-à-vis that so-called positive statement which everyone felt devastated by. I encourage everyone in the Chamber to get out and meet the retained firefighters today because that is what is needed now. We need to support our retained firefighters. They are essential in rural communities, major towns and every place where there is a retained fire service. I ask the Deputy Leader to comment on that and to write to the Minister on behalf of everyone.

The other issue I wish to raise is one that I have raised previously, that of playing facilities. Yesterday one of my local GAA clubs was forced to go to a vulture fund auction to try to get a second pitch. The club, Castledermot GAA club, is landlocked but unfortunately it lost out to a phone bid. The club is confined, landlocked, with 29 teams playing on one piece of land. This is happening right around the country at the moment. The situation is the same for my local camogie club. We need to have a debate, as I said to the Minister on a previous occasion, on Government and local authority funding for playing pitches and facilities for all of our communities. Castledermot GAA is now in a bind and does not know where to go next and the same is true for a lot of other sports clubs throughout the State. We need national, State funding for our communities and we need it very rapidly. I call again for a debate on this issue.