John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 338: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will increase the level of funding to local authorities to ensure that the current level of fire service is maintained; if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of the Kilkenny Fire Service relative to changes being proposed by Kilkenny County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11543/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs, the provision of a premises and the making of such other provisions as it considers necessary or desirable, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Act 1981.

My Department supports fire authorities through the setting of general policy and guidance, and the provision of capital funding, including the recoupment (within the overall funding available) of costs incurred by fire authorities in relation to the approved purchase of fire appliances and equipment.

The purpose of my Department's fire service capital programme is the replacement and renewal of existing local authority fire service infrastructure and the maintenance of the fire vehicle fleet so that fire service buildings and vehicles/equipment are fit for purpose. Following significant investment in fire service infrastructure, fleet and equipment over the last decade, Ireland's fire service infrastructure is now acknowledged to be first rate. The last four years have seen a capital investment of almost €90 million under the capital programme.

There are 7 fire stations in County Kilkenny and the fire service responds to 1,300 call-outs annually. A new fire station in Castlecomer was opened in 2010 with €1 million investment from the fire services capital programme. Total capital investment of some €6.02 million has been provided to Kilkenny County Council Fire Service under the programme during the period 2002 to 2010.

In keeping with other reductions, it has been necessary to reduce the fire service capital allocation for 2011 but, given the current excellent state of fire service infrastructure, this is not expected to impact on or disrupt service delivery in any way.

Under Section 26 of the 1981 Act, each fire authority is required to prepare, and as occasion requires, revise a Fire and Emergency Operations Plan. The making of this Plan is a reserved function of the local authority. Inter alia , the Plan sets out the location of fire stations in the authority's functional area, operational procedures, and training arrangements. The statutory responsibility for determining fire cover standards and providing response capability rests with the local Fire Authority, and any changes being proposed are for the local authority to determine.

In recent years, international trends in managing emergency service provision have moved towards the use of Integrated Risk Management or a Risk-Based Approach (RBA). My Department's National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management is currently funding the development and use of a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software utility that will assist in moving towards such a risk based approach to fire cover.

The intention is that individual fire authority Section 26 operational plans, including Kilkenny's, will be revised using information produced under the risk based approach analysis, and that the information will assist and guide fire service management decisions on the deployment of available resources in the years ahead. The recommended risk based approach was developed following a procurement process, piloted in a number of counties, and is being progressively applied access all counties during 2011.

Service managers in all counties will have access to appropriate information to facilitate effective deployment and use of resources and to ensure that an appropriate balance between fire prevention, protection and response measures is achieved using the resources available.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 339: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on whether it will be possible for a voluntary fire service in Castlegregory, County Kerry, to continue to operate in view of the fact that it has done for decades in the context of existing health and safety regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11547/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs, the provision of a premises and the making of such other provisions as it considers necessary or desirable, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Act 1981. Accordingly, the question of whether the voluntary fire service referred to in the question should continue to operate is a matter for the relevant fire authority.

County, city and borough councils are designated fire authorities under the legislation. Outside the main cities which employ full-time fire fighters, fire services are provided by a retained staffing system. Retained fire-fighters are employees of fire authorities, and are organised to provide a full professional fire service for their communities. They are trained, equipped, supervised and operate to the same procedures as their full-time colleagues. Volunteer fire units operate in a relatively small number of areas, but outside the direct control of the fire authority.

The volunteer unit in question does not have the requisite training to attend certain types of incidents. While it has received some training, equipment and funding from the Council in the past, it does not report to and is not under the control of the Council's Fire Section.

As part of my Department's role in supporting and assisting local authorities in delivering fire services, including the setting of national policy and the provision of funding under the fire service capital programme, a programme for the preparation and dissemination of Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs) covering all aspects of operational activity is in train. These are intended to assist fire authorities to meet their statutory duties, with due cognisance to compliance with health and safety.