John Brady, Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow, has called on the Tánaiste, Simon Harris, to immediately establish a dedicated working group to progress the long-overdue delivery of a full-time 24-hour fire service for Bray, following steps to put in place a statutory Section 26 framework for the county’s fire service.
Deputy Brady said:
“I am calling on the Tánaiste to move beyond statements and commit to real action by establishing a working group tasked with progressing the delivery of a full-time fire service in Bray. This is something that is long overdue and critically needed given the size of the population, the level of risk, and the pressures on the current retained model.
Wicklow County Council have started the tender process for a consultant to develop a Section 26 Fire Service Plan for Wicklow. The tender process, commissioned by Wicklow County Council, was published on 5 February 2026 and is due to close at midday on Friday 3 April 2026. Following that, assessment and consultation work is expected to take place over the summer months, including a period of public consultation.
It is intended that a draft Section 26 Plan will then be brought before the relevant Strategic Policy Committee and subsequently the full County Council during Quarter 4 of 2026.
I welcome the fact that this process is finally moving forward because the reality is that this plan is a critical statutory framework that should have been in place years ago. The absence of an up-to-date plan represents a serious failure, with the local authority operating under an outdated framework for far too long. That is a damning indictment of senior management in the fire service oversight to have presided over the fire service without this essential planning structure being properly updated.
This failure has exposed both the public and members of Wicklow fire service to unnecessary risk.
Importantly, the consultant appointed through this tender will also be required to examine and provide costed options relating to the provision of a full-time fire service in Bray. This is a very significant development and one that I strongly welcome.
However, we cannot afford to wait indefinitely for progress. The need for a 24-hour full-time fire service in Bray is already well established and has been long campaigned for. That is why I am calling on the Tánaiste to immediately establish a working group involving all relevant stakeholders to drive this project forward in parallel with the Section 26 process. I have written to Simon Harris calling on him to immediately establish the working group with the sole purpose of delivering the full-time service.
Communities across North Wicklow need certainty, firefighters need clarity, and the public deserves to know that emergency response capacity is being strengthened. Delivering a full-time fire service for Bray is fundamentally about public safety, and it must now become a priority.” Ends
