Written Answers. - Auxiliary Fire Service.
David Stanton
Ceist:
88
Mr. Stanton
asked the
Minister for Defence
his views on the role and status of the auxiliary fire service; the local authorities in which such a fire service exists; the amount expended on the auxiliary fire service each year in 2001, 2002 and 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[21807/03]
The auxiliary fire service, AFS, was established to augment the regular fire service in time of war and the subsequent primary peacetime role of the AFS largely remained that of providing support for the first-line fire services of the local authorities. The AFS was boosted in the early 1980s with the purchase of a number of new appliances to supplement the old fire tenders then in use.
The role and status of the AFS was further enhanced as a result of the Towards 2000 development programme for Civil Defence begun in the early 1990s, which re-oriented the organisation from its old war time role to one of community support. As part of that programme Civil Defence resources were restructured to fit in with and provide support for the emergency-planning framework of local authorities. In that regard training programmes for volunteer instructors in the AFS were developed jointly by the Fire Services Council, under the aegis of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and the Civil Defence school. As part of the "Towards 2000" programme elements of the AFS also developed a response capability for fighting forest fires. In the interim the AFS has continued as an important element of the Civil Defence response capability and has enhanced the visibility of the organisation within local communities in recent years in supporting flood relief efforts in Dublin, the south east, midlands and many other areas of the country.
My Department has continued to support the AFS with the ongoing replacement of older appliances by more modern second-hand tenders and, in particular, with the purchase of ancillary equipment and protective clothing for use by local units. In that regard there follows a schedule with a list of authorities with AFS capability and the expenditure figures as requested by the Deputy.
As the Deputy will be aware I recently established the inaugural Civil Defence Board under the Civil Defence Act 2002 comprising all of the stakeholders involved in Civil Defence and charged with the management and future development of Civil Defence at national level. Consequently it will be a matter for the board to recognise the valuable contribution made by the AFS within Civil Defence to date in formulating its plans for the future development of the organisation as a whole.
The following 17 local authorities have AFS capability: Carlow; Cavan; Clare; Cork City; Dublin; Kerry; Kilkenny; Limerick City; Louth; Meath; Monaghan; Offaly; Tipperary North; Tipperary South; Waterford City; Waterford County; and Wicklow. There are 31 fire tenders insured on the Civil Defence vehicle register.
Amount expended on Fire tenders/Equipment for Auxiliary Fire Service
|
Description
|
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
|
€
|
€
|
€
|
|
Fire tenders, fire tender equipment, portable pumps, protective clothing
|
*207,797.59
|
82,793.00
|
32,568.60
|
*A number of second hand fire tenders and the majority of the new type self-priming portable pumps were delivered in 2001.
