Notice of motion calling on Roscommon County Council to reassess the level of fire service in all parts of County Roscommon and take into account factors of risk including the numbers of fires in each area, population and response times and set up a working group to recommend to Government to fund a fire service in areas like Castlerea. 

Notice of motion calling on Roscommon County Council to reassess the level of fire service in all parts of County Roscommon and take into account factors of risk including the numbers of fires in each area, population and response times and set up a working group to recommend to Government to fund a fire service in areas like Castlerea.

The Meetings Administrator read the following reply:

Roscommon County Council Fire Service continuously monitor the risk factors to assure that the provision of Fire Services in County Roscommon meets National Standards.

Since the emergency response performance of Fire Services in County Roscommon are compliant with the National Standards, special additional funding is not justified.

It is important to note that the outcome of the recent Firefighters industrial dispute commits Roscommon County Council to pay an additional €1.1 million per annum in Firefighter costs.

In summary, the continuous monitoring of risk factors and adherence to National Standards ensures that the Fire Service operates effectively and efficiently, providing a high level of service to our communities.

Cathaoirleach Cllr. Fitzmaurice stated that he was disappointed with the reply. He outlined that the fire station in Castlerea shut 8 years ago despite being one of the busiest in the county. He explained that he lodged this motion on the 11^th May, and on 18^th May a serious bog fire broke out in the Gortaganny area, the worst of its kind in the county. He stated that there was also a serious house fire in Castlerea town in recent weeks. He stated that this was a huge issue for the area and that he has attended several public meetings on the matter. He stated that Castlerea had too big a population, not to have a fire station and stated that Elphin and Strokestown are much smaller, yet they both have fire services. He stated that Castlerea was one of the biggest towns in Ireland without a fire service. He concluded that he hoped the executive would reconsider and that he would continue to raise the matter with TDs, Ministers and the Taoiseach, and ask the government to fund the reopening of the fire station.

Members also expressed their disappointment at the reply, and made the following points:

• Funding shouldn’t come into it when people’s lives are at stake.
• The house fire that happened in Tarmon Manor could have been saved if there was a fire station in Castlerea town.
• A lot of dialogue on social media regarding the recent fires are incorrect. The fire service from Ballaghaderren only took 14 minutes to get on the scene of the house fire in Tarmon Manor.
• Agreement that a working group would be very beneficial to tackle the issue.
• Expressions of gratitude towards neighbouring fire services Ballaghaderreen and Ballyhaunis who service the Castlerea area and their work on the recent bog fires and house fire.
• Praise for emergency services personnel and the hard work that they do.
• Calls that the government should intervene on the matter.
• Neighbouring fire services are leaving other areas exposed to deal with fires in other areas.
• As Castlerea is surrounded by bog and forest, and has a national prison, it is bizarre not to have a fire service in the town.
• Services such as a fire service were never intended to be removed once they were installed
• Roscommon Town to Athlone is another huge area without fire service and calls for a full assessment of the need for fire services in the area.
• It was stated that the average time for a neighbouring fire service to reach Castlerea was 23 minutes.
• Following rates being increased at the last Budget, it was questioned what the capital cost would be to reinstate the services and what the ongoing cost would be.
• Reopening Castlerea wouldn’t have prevented the Gortaganny bog fires, specialised equipment would assisted, it was questioned if this could this be provided.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Conboy

            SECONDED by Cllr. Fitzmaurice

It was AGREED to share the local knowledge of water access points with other services in case of emergencies.

Director of Services Sean Mullarkey read a list of fire services both in the county and in close proximity who service fires in the county when required. They are Ferbane, Ballinasloe, Mountbellew, Claremorris, Ballyhaunis, Charlestown, Tubbercurry, Ballymote, Drumshanbo, Carrick on Shannon, Mohill, Longford Town, Lanesboro, Athlone, along with Boyle, Elphin, Strokestown, Ballaghaderreen and Roscommon. He stated that each station is in the process of increasing to 12 fire fighters each, will total 228 fire fighters servicing county Roscommon. 

Mr. Mullarkey explained that, with respect to Castlerea, the objective is to assess needs through area-based risk categorisation. He mentioned that between 2020-2022, there were 626 call outs in county Roscommon, only 54 were in the Castlerea area, in 2023 there was a further decrease to 17 call outs for the Castlerea area (9 rural and 8 urban). He detailed that the response time for the recent aforementioned fire was 13 minutes 49 seconds, with another fire service arriving 2 minutes later.

The costs of reopening a fire station were assessed in terms of recruitment and training, incident response, and annual operating expenses. The total cost is estimated at €757,000, with annual running costs of €350,000. He explained that the council has no scope to set up a working group as it is a function of the SPC and taking into account the mentioned figure, it would be difficult for them to make a recommendation to reopen the fire station. He outlined that the Council would have no problem with the Elected Members lobbying the government on the issue, but Roscommon County Council wouldn’t have the budget capacity to reopen a fire station.

Cathaoirleach Cllr. Fitzmaurice thanked Members for their support and concluded that he would continue to raise the issue and requested a copy of the figures mentioned.

Chief Executive Shane Tiernan paid tribute to the fire service for their work during the recent fires and stated it was an honour to have such a dedicated fire service in the county.