Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady repeating his call for a full-time fire service in north Wicklow has called upon Taoiseach Simon Harris to commit the funding to establish a full-time fire service in next month’s budget. Wicklow County Council does not have the funding to establish a full-time service, but Harris, who has previously pledged his support for a full-time service has the power to do so, and Brady argues the time has now come for him to put his money where his mouth is. Brady has consistently called for a full-time service throughout his time in public office, and the urgency of his call is backed up by what can only be described as an unprecedented but not unexpected population surge in north Wicklow.
Brady said:
“While there have been several reviews into the retained fire service. Including a 2014 report on issues relating to the provision of a full-time fire service in Bray and north Wicklow drawn up by Wicklow’s Chief Fire Officer, which I was critical of at the time, arguing that it was not future proofed, that it failed to take into account anticipated population growth in the north Wicklow area. My arguments from the time have proven to be correct.
Since then, north Wicklow has experienced an unprecedented but not unexpected population surge. A surge that is continuing, with both the county and the state approaching pre-famine levels of population for the first time since the 1840s. Nowhere is this more evident than in the north of the county with major developments including over 3,000 new homes planned for Old Fassaroe, which will effectively amount to the construction of another town between Bray and Enniskerry. There are also a further 1,200 residential units planned for the Old Bray Golf Club lands, adjacent to the river Dargle and other big developments throughout the town.
The government has failed to plan to ensure that public services are resourced to meet the challenges that a growing population brings.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of the Wicklow fire service – which is currently a retained fire service. Which means that members work on a part-time basis, where they are on 24 hour call out when scheduled for duty. Where possible members augment their salary with part-time jobs.
A Fire station was built in Bray in the 1980s to house a full time fire service – if that was seen as a necessity in the 80s, that need has now risen exponentially, and is now a matter of real public concern. Currently the average call out numbers for Bray are 275 per annum. Although demand will continue to rise alongside the growth of the population. The development of multi-story apartments in Bray raises the risk level in responding to fires to high.
The reality is we need a full-time service here in the north of the county. The retained fire service is crumbling under the current demands being placed upon it. Demand in north Wicklow is now on a par with parts of Dublin which is serviced on a full-time basis.
The retained fire service model is in crisis across the state. Retained firefighters have already had to resort to industrial action in response to the abject failure of the government to address the crisis in the service. The reality is that retained fire fighters are underpaid, they are working and are on call for extraordinarily long hours and are being paid so poorly that many are forced to supplement their salary through social welfare payments. In addition, they face the challenge of being understaffed to the point that crewing levels represent a danger to both firefighters and the public.
The current model is unworkable, unsustainable, and doomed to failure as the strength and capacity of the retained fire service is continually eroded, as fire fighters unable to continue in their roles, as result of the financial impact, and the effect on their work life balance.
Coupled with this, retained firefighters who are on call must respond to emergencies, by answering their pagers by returning to the fire station, where they must then equip themselves, and then travel to the site of the call out. Battling chronic congestion all the while.
Taken together, the number of call outs, the population increase, the difficulties in negotiating traffic congestion, the growth of multi-story apartment blocks, all combine to raise the risk level significantly.
I am calling on the Taoiseach Simon Harris to put his money where his mouth is and ensure that funds are allocated towards the establishment of a full-time fire service. There is no way that Wicklow County Council can afford to deliver the need for a full-time service, but Simon Harris can. He has the power to deliver for Wicklow. And he needs to step up and get the job done. The time for talking is now over.”
