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.