Donegal Sinn Féín TDs Pádraig MacLochlainn and Pearse Doherty have called on the government to address the issues at the heart of the Retained Fire Service recruitment and retention crisis.
They were speaking following the commencement of industrial action today.
The two Donegal Deputies called on constituency colleagues to urge Minister Darragh O’Brien to act now to resolve the crisis and warned that a failure to do so would put the lives of firefighters and public in Donegal at risk.
Teachta MacLochlainn said: “Retained Fire Fighters are understaffed and under-resourced. They are on 24/7 call-out and must be within five minutes travel time from their station at all times.
“What the NRFA is seeking includes an increased pay structure, with more structured leave, along with further talks with key stakeholders, which would include proposals within an agreed timeframe for the restructuring of the Retained Fire Service to ensure its operation in the future.”
“Last year, my Sinn Féin colleague John Brady introduced a Dáil motion that sought the establishment of a Joint Oireachtas cross-party committee, to sit for four months, and that would have heard evidence from expert witnesses and stakeholders to identify the key issues impacting on the Retained Fire Service before bringing recommendations to the government.
“The government decided to vote against the motion, abandoning any attempt to resolve a crisis that is crippling the Retained Fire Service.”
Teachta Doherty added: “If the government continues to refuse to address the issues at the heart of the recruitment and retention crisis in the Retained Fire Service, members of the NRFA will be forced to close half of all stations in a week’s time.
“I am calling on TDs to stand up for fire fighters in their community, and the people they serve, and to urge Minister Darragh O’Brien to act now to resolve the crisis.
“The Minister must immediately intervene to address the core issues at the heart of the recruitment and retention crisis in the Retained Fire Service. Failure to do so will put the lives of fire fighters and the public at risk”
