Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2020
52. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to concerns about recruitment and retention within the retained fire service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28333/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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 Service Acts 1981 and 2003. My Department supports fire authorities through general policy setting and preparing legislation, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects.
The Fire Service in Ireland is fortunate to have available to it, in the full-time and retained cadres of staff at all levels, a large number of professional, competent and highly committed personnel. At the moment there are 31 fire authorities which provide fire prevention and fire protection services for communities through 27 service delivery structures. Local authorities are the employers of these 3,300 staff engaged at 218 fire stations nationwide, and the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) engages with appropriate staffing representative bodies in relation to overall terms of employment. Fire services issues are managed in my Department through its National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM).
I understand that in large urban areas where there is a full-time service, there remains a high level of interest in working in the Fire Service. This is evidenced by the very high number of responses to recruitment campaigns, the most recent of which is underway in Cork. This recruitment drive which is encouraging applications from diverse backgrounds with the slogan Be the Difference, and has just closed to applications on 25th September last. It is understood however, that the situation outside these areas, with full-time services, can vary. In this regard, local authorities and the LGMA continuously monitor the issue of recruitment and retention and work on developing strategies to address such issues, involving and briefing the NDFEM as appropriate.
A review of fire services in Ireland resulted in the publication of "Keeping Communities Safe - A Framework for Fire Safety in Ireland" (KCS) in 2013. This report was the outcome of a wide-ranging review of fire services in Ireland which was undertaken in 2011/12 and was endorsed as national policy in early 2013. It is available on my Department's website at the following link:
https://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/Community/FireandEmergencyServices/FileDownLoad%2C32381%2Cen.pdf
The KCS policy document sets out the overall approach, the methods and the techniques to achieve the objective of keeping communities safe from fire. It concluded that local authorities were best positioned to continue to provide fire services in Ireland.
Furthermore, an External Validation Group (EVG) commissioned by the Management Board of the NDFEM, visited every fire service in the country as part of a new external validation process arising from implementation of KCS. In April 2016, they published their Report titled “Local Delivery - National Consistency”. It concluded that the public are served well by fire services in Ireland and that the retained fire service model is seen as a particularly effective, flexible and efficient model of community service. The findings of that process are available on my Department's website at the following link:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/local-government/fire-and-emergency-management/fire-services-ireland-local-delivery-national.
Nonetheless, it was recognised that fire services, both retained and fulltime, face significant challenges, including tapering down of traditional firefighting activities.
A follow-up to this process was unfortunately delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, I do expect that work will begin on this in 2021. As part of this process any issues of concern raised, which may include the retention and recruitment of retained firefighters would be examined in conjunction with local authority employers.
In summary, the broad issue of recruitment and retention in the Fire Service is one that is continously monitored by the Management Board of the NDFEM. I would expect that should the issue become more problematic in the coming period then the Board will act to address this in close consultation with the Local Government sector. The aim as always will be to ensure that the entire country continues to be served effectively going forward into the coming decades by a Fire Service that is equipped to face and meet the challenges of our rapidly changing society.
