12 fire engines were off the road on New Year’s Eve due to lack of personnel

The Dublin Fire Brigade staffing crisis “continues to worsen”, says Sinn Fein’s Daithí Doolan as 12 fire appliances were off the road on New Year’s Eve due to lack of personnel.

The Dublin City councillor said that “fire stations across Dublin were without fire engines, ambulances and rescue trucks.

“The staffing crisis is putting the service under extreme pressure,” he says.

“There are currently 965 fire fighters in Dublin Fire Brigade.

“Standards dictate that this number should be over 1,000. Dublin Fire Brigade now depends on overtime to keep the service functioning.

“This is bad practice, putting the lives of fire fighters and the public they serve at risk.”

Doolan also said that “management need to realise how serious this crisis is” and urged the DFB to work with unions as a matter of urgency.

“Recruitment needs to be a priority but in the meantime there are 80 people on the staff panel waiting to be trained and employed.

“There are a further 300 applicants waiting to be interviewed. The solution to the crisis is obvious, it just requires management to take action.

“I have tabled an emergency motion for tonight’s Dublin City Council meeting.

“It calls on City Council’s Chief Executive to engage directly with the unions to put in place a process that addresses this staffing shortage as a matter of urgency.

“We also call on the Lord Mayor to write to Minister for Housing, Local Government, Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien and request that all resources necessary are put in place to address the funding and staffing issues.”