Retained firefighters "have been betrayed" says Offaly TD

Offaly TD Carol Nolan said the decision by the almost 2,000 retained firefighters in the State to escalate their industrial action from tomorrow (Saturday) is "clear evidence that the so-called mediation process has failed to adequately grasp the depth of anger among members of the service".

On Wednesday, the trade union SIPTU informed management that, as of 8am on Saturday, August 12, all fire stations will "go dark" and will have no internal communications other than life-saving information.

In a statement issued yesterday, Deputy Nolan said it was "nothing short of insanity" that the issues which led to the commencement of industrial action had still not been resolved to the satisfaction of the retained firefighters.

"I have heard the anger first-hand, including when I visited striking members at the fire station in Birr. There is almost a sense of disbelief that it has been allowed to go on for so long in the absence of a genuine political will to break the impasse," said the Independent TD.

"This is not some fringe public service that we are talking about here. It is a critical life-saving service. Yet here we are into the third month of this action and there is still no resolution in sight. In fact, if anything, the crisis is deepening.

"I know that the Labour Court has made a number of recommendations in relation to the dispute, but these have been assessed and rejected by a margin of 82 per cent to 18 per cent. That should have told Government and the local authorities that what was being offered was an insult.

"The alarm is ringing on this issue. All of the political rhetoric at Government level appears to have turned to ash as they wait it out or hope the firefighters will cave.

"In that respect, at least, Government will have radically underestimated the level of public support for the firefighters and the resolve among members to finally have issues around pay and conditions resolved," Deputy Nolan concluded.