Fire Service

Tuesday, 1 October 2024

Questions (271)

Thomas Pringle

Question:

271. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline all proposals received from Donegal County Council requesting support from the Fire Services capital programme in each year from 2014 to date; the date the proposal was made; the description of the proposal; the date the proposal was considered and the decision arrived at, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38821/24]

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Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Act 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects.

In the period 2014 to date, in excess of €4 million in grant assistance funding from the Fire Service Capital programme has been approved for the proposed extension to Letterkenny Fire station, appliances and equipment for Donegal County Council. The specific details requested are outlined in the table below.

In July 2022, representatives of Donegal County Council and the Donegal Municipal district met with officials of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) from my Department regarding plans for Ballyshannon and Bundoran Fire stations. At that meeting the NDFEM officials outlined the application process including the provision of a business case, in order that an assessment might be made under the Public Spending Code rules set out by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform for the provision of funding allocation.Once a business case is received by my Department, it can be evaluated and further considered in the context of the funding available under the existing Capital Programme.

Infrastructure

Date Proposal Made	Date Considered /Approved	Description	Decision
Jan-23	Dec-23	Extension to Letterkenny Fire Station	Council approved to tender for design

Equipment & Appliances

Date Proposal Made	Date Considered/ Approved	Description	Decision
Sep-24	Sep-24	Fire Service AWD vans x2	Approved
Aug-24	Sep-24	Breathing Apparatus Entry Control boards	Approved
July-24	Sep-24	PPE for New Firefighters (WRC Agrmt)	Approved
Oct-23	Oct-23	2023-2025 JPF Class B Fire Appliance x 2	Approved
Apr-23	Dec-23	Water Tanker appliance	Approved
Apr-23	Apr-23	Wildland/Multi role kits	Not Approved - Outside the remit of the Capital Programme
Oct-23	Oct-23	Rostered Senior Fire Officer vehicle	Approved
Oct-23	Oct-23	Electric Vehicle Blankets x 22	Approved
Oct-23	Oct-23	Fire Service van	Approved
Sep-22	May-23	Double cab van purchase and fit out	Approved
Dec-22	Dec-22	Reimbursement of Major Emergency expenditure - Creeslough	Approved
Oct-21	Oct-21	Battery powered RTC extrication tools	Approved
Oct-21	Nov-21	Tablet PC's x 20	Approved
Dec-20	Dec-20	2021-2023 Class B Fire Appliance x 1	Approved
Nov-20	Dec-20	Water Tanker appliance	Approved
Mar-21	Mar-21	Fire Service Incident Command Vehicle	Approved
2019	Nov-19	Community Smoke Alarm Scheme	Approved
2018	Feb-18	Pre-owned Class B Fire Appliance x2	Approved
Sep-18	Oct-18	BA Compressor and related civil works Letterkenny Fire Station	Approved
Nov-17	Nov-17	Refurbished Emergency Tender	Approved
Sep-17	Oct-17	Pre-owned Class B Fire Appliance x2	Approved
Jan-16	Feb-16	Pre-owned Class B Fire Appliance x2	Approved
Feb-16	May-16	Breathing Apparatus Sets	Approved
2016	Dec-16	Community Smoke Alarm Scheme	Approved
2015	Jan-16	Community Smoke Alarm Scheme	Approved
Oct-15	Oct-15	4x4 jeeps x3	Approved
Dec-14	Dec-14	ATP Incident Support Vehicle	Approved
Dec-14	Dec-14	Cylinders	Approved
2014	Aug-14	Community Smoke Alarm Scheme	Approved