Sinn Féin TDs Louise O’Reilly and Aengus Ó Snodaigh have criticised the Government’s failure to properly fund and staff Dublin Fire Brigade, saying their failure to do so is “leaving the public vulnerable”.
 
Speaking in the Dáil this morning, Teachta O’Reilly said:
 
“Dublin Fire Brigade respond to fires, car crashes, and accidents and emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
 
“The DFB run 12 full-time stations and two part-time stations in strategic locations across Dublin.
 
“However, recently, the operations of the DFB have been put at risk due to Government failure to properly fund and staff the brigade.

“There are currently a significant number of vacancies in Dublin Fire Brigade, and many more are due to arise in the short-term due to retirements.

“This affects service delivery and means that the public is being left vulnerable due to Government inaction.
 
“It is essential that the Ministers responsible, Minister Darragh O’Brien and Minister Stephen Donnelly, meet with firefighters and their unions immediately in order to address these funding and staffing issues.
 
Teachta Ó Snodaigh said:

“The result of the staffing shortages at DFB is that appliances have been left off the road and, in some cases, operating without the required level of staff.

“Indeed, on September 28th, six appliances were left off the road in Rathfarnham, Dun Laoghaire, North Strand, Phibsborough and Tara Street.

“That very same day, a shocking nine appliances operated without the required level of staff – seven appliances were short-staffed by one firefighter and the other appliances were down by two staff members each.

“These staff shortages directly affect the emergency service response time of DFB.

“This situation must be immediately addressed by Government because any understaffing or delayed response time of DFB puts the public at serious risk.”