Vol. 512 No. 7
188 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the involvement of his Department in the setting up of the Camp West emergency response unit at Castlebar, County Mayo; the remit of the unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27202/99]
It is a statutory function of fire authorities under section 10(2)(c) of the Fire Services Act, 1981 to "make adequate provision for the reception of and response to calls for the assistance of the fire brigade".
At the end of the 1980s a number of initiatives were proposed by fire authorities to my Department, including one for a shared service in the mid-west region, to address difficulties experienced by fire authorities in providing an efficient and cost-effective 999-112 emergency call-receiving service.
Arising from this, my Department, in its role of developing and co-ordinating the provision of fire services by the fire authorities nationally, proposed that three regional based control centres be developed, in the east, west and Munster, capable of serving the mobilisation and communication needs of all fire authorities in these three regions. As a result, the fire services computer aided mobilisation project was initiated.
Throughout the 1990s work on developing the project has progressed in the three regions, with creation of management and operating structures, development and agreement of user requirements and technical specifications, provision of buildings, communications and mobilisation infrastructure and staffing etc. In the early stages of the project, when agreement on user requirements and specifications were being developed, my Department chaired a national co-ordinating committee on the matter.
My Department's input to the overall project continues in its representation on regional management committees and technical liaison groups and the provision of capital funding for the overall project and the application of the associated financial control and cost management procedures.
Camp West, in common with the other two centres, will provide fire authorities with an efficient, cost-effective and reliable mobilisation and communication system and will ensure that the most appropriate fire brigades, having regard to the location and nature of incidents, are alerted and mobilised promptly and respond efficiently to callouts. The Camp West centre is well advanced and I look forward to its completion and opening in 2000.
