The fire service could be thrown back to the pre-Celtic Tiger days of second-hand vehicles if the Government slashes funding, it was warned today.

Challenges faced by fire and rescue services in dealing with the consequences of climate change will be focused on today.

A senior US official at the centre of the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina tonight warned of the dangers of leaving a media void.

Sean McCarthaigh, Cavan

The failure to modernise the Irish fire service has undermined the morale of fire officers, it was claimed tonight.

The Government has abandoned plans to set up a national fire authority, it emerged today.

The number of fire deaths in Kerry last year matched the toll in Dublin despite an eight-fold difference in population, it emerged today.

FIRE officers have expressed frustration about the failure to establish a National Fire Authority, which was recommended by an expert report two years ago.

THE Chief Fire Officers' Association has written to the Department of Environment warning that the country's fire service is incapable of dealing with a major terrorist attack.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern recently declared that this country was unlikely to be a target of a major terrorist strike, a sentiment which possibly did not give comfort to everybody.

Ireland is lagging behind other European countries in funding its emergency services, firefighters will claim today.