Vote to reopen Ballincollig fire station full-time defeated

Councillors hear Section 140 measure would cost €4.6m per year and necessitate increases in rents, rates, and parking fees 

Cork City firefighters and supporters of the full-time reopening of Ballincollig Fire Station at City Hall on Monday. Picture: Dan Linehan

Cork’s city councillors have voted against a motion to reopen and staff full-time a town’s fire station after they were told the €4.6m annual cost could only be found by raising rents, rates, or parking fees, or by cutting services.

Councillors were also told that adapting the fire station building in Ballincollig for a full-time fire service could cost an additional €3m — and that none of the expenditure had been provided for in the city’s 2023 budget.