Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 April 2026
574. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of funding requests his Department has received from Cavan County Council seeking funding approval to purchase additional fire appliances and or specialist equipment for Cavan Fire Services in 2025 and to-date in 2026; the number that were approved in each of the years in question, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28257/26]
View answer575. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of funding requests his Department has received from Roscommon County Council seeking funding approval to purchase additional fire appliances and or specialist equipment for Roscommon Fire Services in 2025 and to-date in 2026; the number that were approved in each of the years in question, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28258/26]
View answer576. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of funding requests his Department has received from Kerry County Council seeking funding approval to purchase additional fire appliances and or specialist equipment for Kerry Fire Services in 2025 and to-date in 2026; the number that were approved in each of the years in question, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28259/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 574, 575 and 576 together.
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 Acts, 1981 & 2003. 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 equipment and priority infrastructural projects.
In April 2026, I announced the Fire Services Capital Programme for the period 2026-2030, with a funding allocation of €328.5m. Following extensive engagement with fire authorities, a number of proposals for station works etc. were received. The proposals were evaluated and prioritised on the basis of the:
• Area Risk Categorisation of the fire station (population, fire risks, etc.);
• established Health and Safety needs;
• state of development of the project;
• value for money offered by the proposal; and
• the totality of requests from all authorities.
The 2026-2030 fire services capital programme has prioritised 39 fire stations projects as well as outlining an initial allocation of 40 new Class B fire appliances across the 27 fire authorities.
Any proposal received by my Department requesting further support from the fire services capital programme is considered with regard to the national priorities and the totality of requests from fire authorities nationwide.
The number of funding requests through the fire services capital programme in 2025 and to date in 2026 from Cavan County council, Kerry County Council and Roscommon County Council are detailed in the table below.
