Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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560. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government why there has been a substantial under-spend from the national fire directorate's capital programme for 2015 on Longford Fire Station. [41715/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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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 and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Act, 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects. Provision was made for the construction of an extension to Longford fire station in 2007 and approval-in-principle was conveyed to Longford County Council to proceed with the preparation of design drawings and a cost plan. The project progressed to tender stage in 2009, and a total of €43,081 was recouped by my Department to Longford County Council in relation to fees incurred.

In 2010, given constraints on public finances and the fact that Longford County Council was also seeking financial support for the construction of a new fire station at Lanesboro, my Department requested that Longford County Council determine its order of priority in relation to both projects. The Council confirmed in July 2010 that the Lanesboro fire station project was the number one priority on their list of capital works. The project to construct a new two-bay fire station at Lanesboro was approved in 2014 and completed this year, with my Department recouping €1,011,179 to Longford County Council for costs incurred on the project.

I have also recently announced a new national joint - procurement programme to purchase twenty fire appliances, under which Longford Fire Service has been allocated one new appliance. Given the ongoing constraints on public finances, further support from my Department’s Fire Services Capital Programme to proceed with an extension to the fire station in Longford Town will have regard to national priorities, the totality of requests from fire authorities countrywide, Longford County Council's priorities, the extent of current and previous investment in Longford fire service, the value for money offered by proposals and the status of existing facilities having regard to risk categorisation.