Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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151. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if €450,000 announced by the former Minister of State, Mr. Michael Finneran, was allocated to Roscommon County Council for the refurbishment of Elphin fire station; the works completed on the station to date; the plans to complete the refurbishment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2612/16]

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 upgrade works to Elphin fire station in 2010 and approval-in-principle was conveyed to Roscommon County Council to proceed with the preparation of design drawings and a cost plan. These were received in my Department during 2012 , with an estimated cost of €423,000. Given constraints on public finances my Department was unable to progress the project at that time. A revised schedule of improvement works were completed at Elphin subsequently at a cost of €23,381 and were subsequently recouped to the Council.

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