Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady has accused Minister Darragh O’Brien of once again failing the retained fire service, following the rejection by SIPTU affiliated members of the retained fire service earlier today of a pay proposal relating to the retainer paid to retained firefighters from the government and the LGMA, delivered via the WRC. He said that the Minister needs to act immediately to address the fall out of what firefighters are describing as his betrayal of the retained fire service, which has a high probability of leading to a recommencement of industrial action.
Last year retained firefighters suspended planned industrial action to allow space for the Minster to fulfil his commitment to the fire fighters to fight tooth and nail for a ‘significant increase’ to the retainer paid to retained firefighters.
Today, a bitterly disappointed majority of the members of the retained fire service (RFF) voted to reject the WRC proposals, which they believe fell well short of what was intimated as to what could be delivered with the support of the Minister.
Brady said:
“Yet again Minister Darragh O’Brien has failed the retained fire service. The Minister stood up in the Dáil and proclaimed himself as the Minister who would champion the needs of retained firefighters.
RFF members previously suspended industrial action in good faith following assurances by the Minister. He has not delivered.
Members of the retained fire service who I have talked to today, told me that the Minister deliberately lied to them to get them off the picket line, and then once he had created space for himself, he stabbed them in the back through his failure to deliver on his pledge to support them.
It is incredible that after one of the biggest give away budgets in the history of the state, that the government with a surplus of €24 billion has failed to seize the opportunity to bring the RFF into the twenty-first century.
We are now faced with the reality that there is a high probability of a return to industrial action by the fire fighters, as yet again the government don’t see fit to follow through with their commitments to champion retained firefighters and give them a decent wage.
There is no way that retained fire fighters should have been put in this position. They have been lied to, and treated with contempt by the government, and Minister O’Brien in particular.
The responsibility for this situation lies clearly with Minister Darragh O’Brien. He needs to act now to clean up this mess of his own creation. He needs to deliver on the commitments that he has given to the retained fire fighters.” ENDs
