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Fire Service

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 April 2019

Tuesday, 9 April 2019

Questions (644)

John Curran

Question:

644. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his plans to upgrade the Dublin Fire Brigade fleet in view of the age of the fleet; the number and type of vehicles in the fleet; the number less than 5, 5 to 7, 7 to 10 and more than 10 years old, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16693/19]

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Written answers

The provision of fire services in local authority areas, including the establishment and maintenance of fire brigades, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises, is a statutory function of the individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003.

My Department supports the fire authorities through setting national policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding, including recoupment (within the overall funding available) of costs incurred by fire authorities in relation to the approved purchase of fire appliances and emergency equipment, as well as construction and upgrading of fire stations.

Decisions regarding the number and type of fire appliances maintained is a matter for each fire authority, having regard to the assessment of their individual fire cover needs and the provision and management of a fleet adequate to their requirements. In the assessment of their fire cover needs, including the provision and management of a fleet adequate to their requirements, fire service management use evidence based on multi-annual data of actual fires in determining fire station area risk categorisation and have regard to standards set out in the national policy document “Keeping Communities Safe” for benchmarking their services.

As part of my Department's fire services capital programme, I announced a new national joint-procurement programme in 2017 to purchase 20 new fire appliances. Dublin City Council's Fire Service received an allocation for three new ‘Class B’ appliances, which is the standard appliance. In 2015, under a similar programme, Dublin's Fire Service also received an allocation for three new ‘Class B’ appliances. Dublin City Council's Fire Service requested, and received approval, to substitute the cost of one of the appliances to purchase a pre-used turntable ladder. In addition to these allocations, since 2008, my Department has also funded four ‘Class B’ appliances and one turntable ladder for Dublin.

Detailed information on the age, number and vehicle type of the Dublin Fire Brigade fleet, as requested by the Deputy, is not available in my Department. It should be available directly from the Fire Authority, in this instance Dublin City Council who, through Dublin Fire Brigade, provide fire services for all four Dublin local authorities.

Question No. 645 answered with Question No. 606.
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