asked the Minister for the Environment if he will establish a public inquiry to examine the state of the fire services in this country.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Fire Services.
17.
I would refer the Deputy to the statement relating to the fire service which I made in introducing the Estimate for my Department in the House on 15 March 1978. I indicated then that all local authorities had been asked to conduct a review of the operation of their fire services to determine how those services match up to the needs of today. The reviews are comprehensive examinations extending to all aspects of both fire fighting, and other operations, and of fire prevention work. They cover 11 separate aspects under 65 sub-headings.
Accordingly, I do not see the need for an inquiry into the state of the fire services—that stage was completed in the Report of the Working Party on the Fire Service which was laid before each House of the Oireachtas in July 1975. The report made wide-ranging recommendations on the operational service, fire prevention, structure and qualification, training and miscellaneous matters. Work is in progress in all of these areas and, in particular, on the recommendation that for each local fire authority area there should be a separate assessment of the strength and adequacy of the service. These are the reviews to which I have referred and according as the fire brigade authorities submit their reports they are being considered in my Department and being followed up with such inquiries, advice or assistance as may be appropriate.
Can the Minister say why it is that there appears to be such disquiet amongst the fire officers in relation to the fire services? As I understand it, they have been anxious that there be some sort of inquiry into these.
The chief fire officers seem to have a certain amount of disquiet from some public statements and so on. We have asked for a review of each local authority in relation to fire services and what is required in their areas. There are quite a number of these reports already in my Department being processed and examined. There are some still to come, but we are treating it as a matter that should be dealt with as quickly as possible. On the reason for there being disquiet amongst the fire officers I will make more inquiries and try to let the Deputy know what are the specific reasons.
Surely the Minister must know when this is shown by people in their position—they are the authorities on this subject and know more about it than any of us—that, in these circumstances, the Minister must accept that the process he is using at present is not one that satisfies them, is probably not going to be an effective one and that is why they continue to be disquieted despite all the things he and his predecessor said they were and are doing?
Is the Minister aware that the recruitment of executive members of the fire associations is very difficult from the point of view of the salary structure which is unrealistic and the question of qualifications which appears to be exceptionally demanding in some cases that local authorities are experiencing real difficulty in getting response to advertisements for staff at that level?
At the level of?
At executive level, middle management.
I understand they have had some difficulty in Dublin but I have not heard that they have had difficulty anywhere else. There has been some difficulty, I am told, in the Dublin area.
Does the Minister propose having a look at that or doing anything about it?
Yes, as part of the review to which I have referred.