Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of chief fire officers or acting chief fire officers throughout the State; the salaries that they are paid; the benefit in kind that they receive such as transport, expenses and allowances; if he is planning, as a matter of efficiency, to merge chief fire officers; his views on whether there is a need for a national chief fire officer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54286/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Chief Fire Officer is the senior technical position in local authority fire services and is generally a Senior Engineer equivalent grade. At the most recent count, there are 203 Senior Fire Officers, including the 29 Chief Fire Officers. Fire services are provided from 220 fire stations, by 3,233 firefighters using a fleet of some 500 vehicles. Staffing in the fire services, comes within the local government Employment Control Framework. Since the introduction of the public sector recruitment embargo, key front line posts and posts related to public safety such as the fire service, continue to be approved as exceptions to the moratorium. At the end of September 2012, the number of full time f firefighters was 1,220 and the number of retained firefighters was 2,047. Senior Officer numbers have decreased from 270 to 203 in the same period. This 25% decrease of officer numbers is in line with overall local authority staffing decreases.

The annual budget provided by local authorities for running fire services is of the order of €260m and is managed by the Chief Fire Officers. Services managed by the Chief Fire Officers includes a broad range of duties and functions: fire services response; fire prevention work, including community fire safety; requirements under SEVESO/COMAH and Dangerous Substances legislation; the Building Control and dangerous buildings functions; leading major emergency management within the local government system and in the inter-agency regional structures; running mobilisation and communication centres as well as training centres on a regional basis; liaising with and in some cases running the Civil Defence service; and making input to national policy development and delivery.

The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management was established in 2009 to provide central leadership and direction to fire and emergency management in Ireland and to achieve consistent, effective and value for money fire services delivered by local fire authorities . T he National Directorate is headed by a National Director who effectively performs the role of a National Chief Fire Officer.

The National Directorate has developed a policy document called Keeping Communities Safe (KCS) which is intended to set the future direction of fire services in Ireland. KCS is the outcome of a review of fire services activities, and it will address, inter alia, future roles and appropriate structures to deliver services effectively and efficiently. I expect to publish it shortly as national policy. The National Directorate is headed by a National Director who effectively performs the role of a National Chief Fire Officer. The current applicable salary scales for Chief Fire Officers are contained in the following tables.

Chief Fire Officer (Dublin City Council)

Chief Fire Officers may submit claims in respect of travel and subsistence expenses incurred as part of their official duties in accordance with the relevant travel and subsistence circulars. All local authorities are obliged to ensure that only essential travel is undertaken and that the number of employees going on any official journey is kept to an absolute minimum. Local authorities are also obliged to ensure that related expenditure is critically appraised and monitored.