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 Acts, 1981 and 2003. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for equipment and priority infrastructural projects.
My Department runs a Community Smoke Alarm scheme which distributes smoke alarms to what are identified as vulnerable households. The scheme was initiated in 2007 and has seen over 150,000 alarms distributed by fire service personnel, including to those in local authority housing. The recoupments made to each local authority under this schemes by county, in each of the years 2018 to 2020, is outlined in Table 1 below.
Table 1 - Recoupments to Local Authorities in respect of Community Smoke Alarm Scheme
Fire Authority
|
Year
|
Amount recouped €
|
CARLOW COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
6,919
|
CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
2,829
|
CORK CITY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
8,118
|
|
2020
|
6,323
|
CORK COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
11,624
|
|
2020
|
2,920
|
DONEGAL COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
13,837
|
DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
14,145
|
GALWAY COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2018
|
8,118
|
|
2019
|
17,835
|
KERRY COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2018
|
5,304
|
|
2020
|
12,349
|
KILKENNY COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
4,151
|
|
2020
|
5,535
|
LAOIS COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
20,756
|
LEITRIM COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
2,151
|
LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2020
|
8,487
|
LOUTH COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
6,365
|
MEATH COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
20,756
|
MONAGHAN COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
7,072
|
SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2018
|
2,706
|
|
2019
|
5,658
|
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2018
|
6,765
|
TIPPERARY COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2018
|
20,295
|
|
2019
|
13,838
|
|
2020
|
8,302
|
WESTMEATH COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2018
|
5,412
|
|
2019
|
14,145
|
WEXFORD COUNTY COUNCIL
|
2019
|
16,833
|
|
2020
|
16,974
|