Stalled recruitment process for Dublin Fire Brigade causing concern, Senator says

The delay in recruiting staff for the Dublin Fire Brigade is causing a safety concern for Dublin citizens, a Labour Senator has said.

Spokesperson for Employment Affairs Senator Marie Sherlock called on the Government and Dublin City Council to urgently address the stalled recruitment process.

“The under-staffing in Dublin Fire Brigade means that there are on average 3-4 fire engines that cannot be deployed each day across Dublin City and Council,” she said.

“This is out of a total fleet of 21.

“This must be a serious cause of concern for all who live and work in Dublin.”

Senator Sherlock said that there “have been long standing recruitment issues in Dublin Fire Brigade which came to a head last year when firefighters had to threaten industrial action to bring about change.

“This led to the Duffy agreement being made last February between Dublin City Council and unions which stipulated amongst other issues, that 90 fire fighters would be recruited in 2022, that there would be two training run in the first half of the year for firefighters and emergency service controllers and that a recruitment panel would be put in place.

“So far, 72 fire fighters have been trained out of the 90 and a recruitment competition has yet to commence for the 2023 intake.

“There is now a very strong view among firefighters that because of this stalled recruitment process, there is little or no likelihood of the necessary training courses commencing in early 2023.”

Senator Sherlock says that there are “significant levels of distrust among firefighters and paramedics,” and expectations have not been met.

“The failure by the government to pay the €1000 pandemic recognition payment to Dublin Fire Brigade simply rubs salt in the wounds,” she said.