Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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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.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Senator might not have heard my initial response and taken all of it fully on board. The key element is that SIPTU has confirmed it will adhere to the 1992 Act. We have a responsibility not to scaremonger. Public safety will be safeguarded by staff and management at all times. The Senator referenced Blanchardstown. If I were a member of the public looking at this debate, I would think no member of the fire service is going to go to a fire incident like that. It has made it quite clear-----

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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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.