Martin: Councils must examine whether having part-time fire services is appropriate

Taoiseach Micheál Martin the weekend had seen worries about fire service numbers, but with funerals taking place in Donegal, the country is 'at a very raw time'. Picture: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

Councils and local authorities must examine whether having part-time fire services is appropriate, the Taoiseach had said.

The issue of retained services has been highlighted in the aftermath of the deaths of 10 people in a gas explosion in Donegal.

Speaking about the tragedy in Creeslough, Mr Martin said he was struck by young Hamish O'Flaherty's speech at the funeral of his father James on Wednesday, saying that it would "break your heart".

The Taoiseach added the weekend had seen worries about numbers, but with funerals taking place in Donegal, the country is "at a very raw time".

He told Newstalk the firefighters in the area had worked long hours into Saturday to clear debris and recover casualties.

Asked about the reversal of the decision to move 120 Ukrainian refugees from Kerry to Mayo, Mr Martin said the Government "should never be afraid" to admit a mistake. However, he said Integration Minister Roderic O'Gorman and his department had a unique challenge on its plate.

The Taoiseach added he was "somewhat down", having attended the UN in New York a few weeks ago. He said the UN had discussed major issues such as hunger and famine across the globe. 

However, he said Ireland was not unique in seeing rising numbers of international protection applications.

He said it was "very, very challenging" but said it was important to continue to show solidarity with refugees.

Mr Martin said the housing crisis was adding to the pressures on international protection and said the country's planning system needed to be faster. He said the "system was too slow to react to innovation". He said Irish people needed to be "not fixated on the typical type of homebuilding".

Asked about the video of the Irish women's team singing the Wolfe Tones song Celtic Symphony, the Taoiseach said "no malice was intended". He said he was impressed by the speed and totality of the apology from Vera Pauw and her players.

The Taoiseach said Ireland must "take the culture of the gun out of Irish politics".

On the issue of RTÉ's dropping of an interview with former minister Shane Ross, the Taoiseach admitted he was wrong to say Sinn Féin had received a copy of the interview beforehand.

He said Sinn Féin was sending solutions letters "left, right and centre". He said the party had "sought to shut down debate" on the treatment of rape victims.

Asked about what is next after the Government handover, Mr Martin said he had given no thought to his next move. He said the Government was "not about ego".