LIVES could be put at risk if a local authority on the Southside decided to privatise its fire service, it has been claimed.
Concerns were raised by the Irish Fire and Emergency Services Association (IFESA) after Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council recently employed a consultancy firm to evaluate the provision of fire services by Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) in the county.
On October 8 at the monthly meeting of the county council, County Manager Owen Keegan told councillors he had commissioned Eamon O’Boyle & Associates to carry out a high level evaluation of the fire and rescue services currently being provided by DFB in the county.
He said the overall objective of the report was to
“ensure that fire and rescue services are delivered in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, preferably by DFB, within a value for money framework that is appropriate for a modern public service
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Mr Keegan noted that pay and pension costs currently account for over 83 per cent of the total cost of Dublin Fire Brigade.
He also highlighted the fact that the cost of the service being provided by DFB to the council has increased from 6.4 per cent in 2006 to an estimated 7.4 per cent in 2012. The council says the report is due to be published later this month.
In 2010, Mr Keegan initiated the privatisation of the council’s local waste collection service.
Ros MacCobb of IFESA believes that lives could be put at risk if the service in Dun Laoghaire is privatised.
“People’s lives will definitely be put at risk if the service is privatised,
? he claimed.
“In relation to the provision of EMS [Emergency Medical Services] the fire service in Dublin just doesn’t provide fire and rescue, it provides medical services.
“Even though in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown the HSE may transport casualties the majority of time, in serious cases that are life threatening the fire brigade is mobilised.
“Due to the shortage of ambulances in Dublin, which has been widely reported, the timely intervention of fire services medical teams does and will always save lives. You won’t get a private operator to come in overnight and deliver that service. This is a service that is provided to the people in Dun Laoghaire.
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Mr MacCobb said the council was analysing the service provided by Dublin Fire Brigade in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown in isolation and not taking into account that fire tenders from elsewhere in the city respond to incidents in the county.
“The bigger picture is that you have an army standing behind you in County Dublin that is able to come to the support of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown.
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There are currently two full-time fire stations in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown – one in Dun Laoghaire (Kill Avenue) and the other in Rathfarnham (Nutgrove).
A total of 109 personnel are employed at these two stations. A small part of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown is also served by Donnybrook fire station.
Cllr Victor Boyhan (Ind) said he would be strongly opposed to the privatisation of fire services within the county.
“If the consultant appointed to carry out an evaluation of the current fire service operated by Dublin Fire Brigade has views about the efficiency or effectiveness of the fire services then let’s hear the facts and put in place solutions to ensure continuity of service,
? he said.
A spokesperson for the council said the local authority wanted to exercise a greater input into the planning and provision of services in the county.
“Under the proposed model, the council will specify in general terms the level of fire and rescue services it requires for DLR (both fire prevention and operational response), how these services are to be provided and the required monitoring/reporting/auditing arrangements,
? the spokesperson said.
“It will then seek to negotiate and agree a price with Dublin City Council whereby the specified services will be provided by DFB at the agreed cost.
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