DONEGAL Deputy Thomas Pringle has called on the government to support the striking retained fire fighters.
He said the retained firefighters’ proposals are very reasonable and also criticised Government and local authorities for rostering on-duty crews who are on strike, calling it dangerous and disappointing.
Addressing the Dáil on Tuesday, Deputy Pringle said: “It is a sad reflection on the Department and the Government that the firefighters feel that they have no other option but to take strike action to have their concerns listened to by the Government.
“The firemen have commenced a rolling stoppage across the country, making sure to leave no area without coverage to try and have their grievance heard as well, which they don’t do easily and I think that has to be recognised.
Deputy Pringle said: “The Government and the local authorities, I believe, are taking a dangerous stance in relation to this strike by still rostering on duty fire crews that are on strike,” calling the move, “a very disappointing tactic to be employed by Government at this stage”.
The deputy was speaking in support of the Sinn Féin motion re Retained Fire Services. He said: “The Government has even recognised the problem itself but as usual wants to ignore the solution.”
He said a recent survey by the Department showed 58% of current firefighters are likely to leave the service in the next three years.
Deputy Pringle said: “The situation is so bad that many stations can only manage a bare turn-out and cannot let anyone go on leave because they would not be able to answer a call at all.
“At least one station in Donegal is down to five firemen. In another station, area advertisements were made for staff recruitment with no applications because of the area rule where firemen have to be living within 2.5km of the station.
“Donegal County Council refuse to give time off for staff to attend fire calls yet expect employers to give their staff the time to attend call-outs, which is absolutely crazy when you think about it,” he said.
The deputy said: “The fire service plays a very important role in our communities and deserves the support of everyone in the country and the Government. The retained fire crew have the needs of the community at heart and are willing to sacrifice a lot to be able to carry out the role.”
He said he knew firefighters who had to forgo family events and other events, “because when they go to the station to mark themselves off as unavailable for call-outs, the minimum number of crew has already been reached so they can’t avail of any off-time.”
Deputy Pringle said: “There are very few roles in our society today that workers would be willing to put so much at stake. That, I believe, has to be recognised by the State.
“What the firemen are looking for is very reasonable, I believe,” he said.
The deputy said extending the crew at the station to 12 makes perfect sense and would allow for a week on/week off roster, rather than the need for crews to have to book time off. He said there also needs to be flexibility on the distance that recruits can live from the station, saying: “Some areas more than others might have difficulty in actually meeting the distances, and I think that can be managed through proper management on a local basis.
“As I understand it, a lot of the restrictions are in place under legislation that dates back to the 1950s and if that is the case it is in bad need of upgrading at this stage.”
Deputy Pringle also said it was totally understandable that rates of pay should go a long way toward recognising the significant role of the fire service in the community and making it affordable for people to join the service.
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