Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 September 2014
1488. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there is an obligation on a person to pay a fire service charge when the person's property was set on fire as a result of an arson attack and the fire services were not alerted by the victim. [33128/14]
View answerUnder the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003, a fire authority is entitled to charge users or beneficiaries of a fire service for services which it provides. I do not have any role in approving or consenting to the levying of such charges, which is solely a matter for each local authority.
I understand that most fire authorities operate waiver schemes in respect of fire service call-out charges; each case is examined on its merits, and partial waivers and deferred payment options are considered as appropriate.
In many cases, the householders / premises owners are covered by relevant home, motor and farm insurance policies for charges for attendance of the fire brigade at incidents such as house fires, road traffic accidents and hay barn fires.
I understand that the money recouped through charges levied on beneficiaries in respect of fire service responses is only a small proportion of the overall cost of providing fire services. The full costs of the services are met by the local authorities through a range of income sources, including commercial rates, charges for services to commercial properties, Government grants and (general purpose) allocations from the Local Government Fund.
