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 Act, 1981. My Department supports fire authorities through setting general policy and national standards, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding support for equipment and priority infrastructural projects.
The prioritisation of work and effective management of all resources is, in the first instance, a matter for the fire authority, based on its assessment of risk, needs and resources. In relation to the staffing requirements in each local authority, under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, it is the responsibility of each Chief Executive to employ such staff and to make such staffing, funding, recruitment and organisational arrangements as deemed necessary for the purposes of carrying out the functions of their local authority.
Dublin City Council provides fire prevention and fire and rescue services for the four Dublin local authorities: Dublin City, South Dublin, Fingal and Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown County Councils. It also provides an emergency ambulance service by arrangement with the National Ambulance Service of the HSE.
In relation to staffing in Dublin Fire Brigade, the current COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges in respect of delivery of services to the public. These challenges have included recruitment and training of new staff, resulting in staffing shortages in recent times. However, recruitment, training and deployment of new recruits have continued in Dublin Fire Brigade, albeit with the additional difficulties imposed by control and safety measures. I am aware that the most recent fire-fighter recruitment campaign began in September 2019:
- The first class of recruits from that campaign began training in April 2020 and have taken up positions across the brigade.
- A second recruit class began training in June 2021, with recruits recently taking up positions in January 2022.
- A further third recruit class of 45 will begin training early in February 2022, with provision within the Dublin City Council budget for a fourth and final class of the remaining panelled recruit’s later in 2022.
In recent weeks, in line with trends among the general population, all public and emergency services have experienced heightened disruptions due to the transmissibility of the COVID-19 Omicron variant and close contact related staff absences. Following a Government mandate in late December 2021, authorising the use of a voluntary derogation exempting Fire services staff from COVID-19 close contact isolation requirements under strict conditions, my Department built the derogation into a broader suite of updated guidance and contingency measures for Fire service management. This was to ensure the ongoing provision of Fire services amid the highest rates of COVID-19 infection since the onset of the pandemic. Thankfully, to date Dublin Fire Brigade management has not needed to implement the derogation owing to careful management of resources and the ongoing commitment and professionalism of Dublin Fire Brigade staff.
The broader issue of staff shortages is not simply a funding one. There is an extensive recruitment and training process to follow before suitable candidates are appointed, and this takes time; Dublin Fire Brigade management are following this process and is actively managing staffing in the brigade, on a day-to-day basis, to minimise the effect of the pandemic on delivery of services.
Local Authority fire services in Ireland is staffed by over three thousand professional, competent and highly committed personnel in the full-time and retained fire services. Local authorities, as the funders and the employers of fire service personnel, have demonstrated their commitment to this service over the past number of years. The number of frontline fire service staff have been maintained at a consistent high level throughout the economic challenges of the past number of years, even at a time when staffing numbers were of necessity reduced in other areas of the local authorities.
I understand that Dublin City Council, as the employer, has engaged in an extended process with firefighter representative bodies, Fórsa and SIPTU at the Workplace Relations Commission. There has been some progress in a number of areas, some of which would alleviate pressures caused by current staffing arrangements, but no final agreement has been reached. I encourage the parties to re-engage with the established statutory industrial relations machinery in place, to achieve a resolution without delay. The issues and concerns raised can only be addressed if all sides are speaking to each other. I strongly urge all parties to re-enter the consultative process and find a common ground, so that we can again focus on the service, and its development.
