Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 729 and 730 together.

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 Acts 1981 and 2003. My Department supports fire authorities through setting general policy, providing the legislative framework, running a central training programme and issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects. The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management manages fire service issues in my Department.

Fire services in Ireland are provided by the local authorities in accordance with the provisions of the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003. Under this legislation, 31 authorities provide fire prevention and fire protection services for communities through 27 service delivery structures.

In May 2021, I commissioned the Management Board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) to review the delivery and sustainability of the local authority ‘Retained’ Fire Services, with particular emphasis on the recruitment and retention of personnel.

My Department published the resulting report, entitled “Retained Fire Services in Ireland – A Review of Recruitment and Retention and the Future Sustainability of Service Delivery” in December 2022. The report’s conclusions were accepted by the Government in January 2023, who noted the thirteen recommendations contained to address the issues of recruitment and retention and ensure the sustainability of retained fire services into the future.

Though substantial progress was made during early discussions in 2023 on the implementation of those recommendations, unfortunately, the parties were unable to reach a positive conclusion on the provision of a revised model of retained fire service delivery that would provide both an effective service delivery and a suitable work/life balance to their mutual satisfaction at that time. This resulted in a period of industrial action by Retained firefighters in June 2023.

The key deliverable, agreed by all stakeholders, is a revised composite agreement that will standardise future retained fire service employment terms and conditions across all local authorities.

Thankfully, following negotiations at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), which were conducted in the context of an earlier Labour Court recommendation rejected by Retained firefighters, an agreement was reached on a revised service model that will see,

I am aware that each local authority is currently in the process of implementing the WRC recommendations. The adjustments to pay are being processed by all local authorities and it is expected that the majority of local authorities will have adjusted their payroll system and made payments to retained firefighters shortly. All retained firefighters will move to a fortnightly pay cycle in 2024.

Each local authority has established a local implementation group with management and staff representatives to implement the new model of Fire Service delivery. In fire stations where there are currently 10-12 firefighters, it is hoped that this will progress quickly. In stations with less than 10 firefighters, management and staff are examining interim options to allow for flexible working until a full complement of 12 firefighters can be achieved through recruitment.

Recruitment of new firefighters is underway across the fire service. It will take some time to reach the 12 crew in all fire stations as the time from advertising a retained firefighter post to completion of training includes a number of stages. Fire Services are prioritising recruit training for 2024.

I believe that the full implementation of the WRC agreement and the recommendations of the Retained Review report provide the basis to resolve the issues of recruitment and retention in our Retained fire services. I wish to thank all stakeholders for their constructive engagements over the course of negotiations in 2023 and I commend their efforts in seeking a resolution to the issues.