Two fire appliances in the ‘Bravo’ division of Dublin Fire Brigade (covering Dolphin’s Barn and Tallaght fire stations) were kept off the road this morning due to staff shortages, reducing the number of fire brigades in the area available to respond to emergency calls by 50%.
This is according to information received by Workers’ Party Dublin City Councillor Éilis Ryan.
Speaking on the matter, Cllr. Ryan said:
“I am extremely concerned, but unfortunately not surprised, to learn that 50% of the fire brigades in the ‘Bravo’ division of Dublin Fire Brigade were unable to operate this morning due to staff shortages.
“The city’s fire service is already at a critical low point because of repeated cutbacks to both appliances and staffing. This is just the latest incident.”
The city councillor continued:
“Ordinary occurrences like sickness and holiday leave should be planned for and factored into staffing requirements. Unfortunately the approach consistently taken by national and local government has been to reduce service levels to a bare minimum, so that there is no ability to cope with these normal situations.
“It’s not unique to the emergency services – we’ve seen the same happen with public transport, healthcare, education. But the difference here is that, sooner or later, a loss of human life will result from these cutbacks. And inevitably, the response from some quarters will be to privatize the service.”
Cllr. Ryan concluded:
“Twenty new recruits is little comfort when we have decades of staffing cutbacks to reverse. Its almost as if the recession was used as an excuse to drive through cutbacks that those in charge intend to keep in place indefinitely.”