Broken pledge 'puts lives at risk'

LIVES are needlessly being endangered because a National Fire and Civil Protection Authority promised by the Government a year ago has not being established.

The authority was one of the central recommendations made in an expert review of the national fire services published by the Department of the Environment last February.

National Firefighter Committee chairman Brian Murray said urgent action was needed to implement the authority. "The fire service has not changed one iota since the review made its recommendations and we have been pushing continuously for the minister to act on this," he said.

Only the fire services in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway are manned by permanent firefighters. Outside the cities, each council operates its own service independently, drawing on part-time volunteers and there is no central control or management of each fire service.

Last year's report called for the immediate implementation of a number of recommendations, saying that fragmented fire services could not handle a large-scale disaster. According to the report's authors: "We do not believe that the current regime would stand up favourably under the inevitable scrutiny and investigation that would follow a major fire or other emergency incident with multiple casualties." After that warning, then Environment Minister Noel Dempsey promised that action would be taken as soon as possible. However, despite saying the national authority, with a budget of 4m, could be established on an ad-hoc basis before last year's general election, nothing has yet been put in place.

Last December, Environment Minister Martin Cullen met with fire service representatives and discussed the possibility of an implementation body which would look at how to introduce the recommendations of last year's report. But there has been no progress since. Mr Murray says it is up to the minister to move things forward.

"It's back with the minister and to date he has not informed us whether he has taken on board the process of an implementation body," said Mr Murray, adding that lives were being constantly put in danger. Tony McDonnell, a SIPTU representative with Dublin Fire Brigade, said it appeared nothing short of a disaster would get the Government to act. "The day something happens is the day this report will be thrown back in the Government's face. Things were in hand a year ago. It should have been up and running long before now. The public is going around thinking there is a service there to protect them and the reality is that there is not," he said.

A spokesperson for the minister said it was no longer feasible in the current circumstances to go ahead with the new authority.

However, other recommendations from last year's review will be looked at, he said.