Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to firefighters' concerns regarding a possible reduction in firefighter numbers by 20% (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4932/13]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the proposal to reduce firefighter numbers on appliances by 20% as outlined in the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management's Keeping Communities Safe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4935/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 138 and 140 together.

My Department’s National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management has developed a policy document, Keeping Communities Safe (KCS), which is intended to set the future direction of fire services in Ireland. It sets out a system of national processes and standards for fire service delivery in Ireland based on a risk management approach to fire safety. The national standards that are proposed in KCS are in keeping with international good practice and are crucial to a consistent approach across fire services in Ireland. The standards in question are based on an ‘area risk categorisation’ system which will be applied across the country by all fire services. This will result in fire station areas being risk graded across five bands from very high to very low. The fire service response in terms of numbers of fire appliances and fire crews in an area is then related to this risk categorisation. Pre-determined attendances (PDAs) indicate the number of appliances that will be mobilised initially in response to calls for assistance to particular categories of incident.

Fires in dwellings (other than chimney fires) are categorised as primary fires and two fire engines will be the normal initial response to primary fires (pre-determined attendance). This may be varied by the incident commander in light of available information. The first appliance mobilised to an incident would have a normal crew complement of 5 personnel, to include a designated Incident Commander, with 4 personnel on the second or subsequent appliances mobilised from the same station. I understand that a small number of stations within Dublin currently respond to an incident with 6 personnel in the first appliance . Therefore, the 20% reduction mentioned in the Question s refers to the impact of the proposal on a limited number of stations within Dublin Fire Brigade.

In accordance with KCS, the primary responsibility will be on local service management to conduct a risk categorisation process for its functional area. However, there is specific provision in KCS that in situations where fire services consider it appropriate to put in place arrangements different to the norms set out above such proposals and the supporting case may be included in the fire service’s discussions with an External Validation Group. This will ensure, as far as possible, that appropriate risk categorisation is applied and any vulnerabilities are addressed. The draft KCS document is available on my Department’s web site at , and I intend to publish it as national policy in the near future.