It is essential for Galway city that the city manager Joe MacGrath “insist that the county manager” fill two full-time fire-fighters positions which have become vacant because of retirements.
This is the view of Labour councillor Billy Cameron, who said a “diminution of the city service cannot be accepted or entertained”.
The Galway City Council pays the Galway County Council to run the city fire service. There is one Chief Fire Officer and 10 Assistant Chief Fire Officers. Three Assistant Chiefs are engaged in operations, each responsible for Galway city, Athenry, Tuam, Loughrea, Ballinasloe, Clifden, Mountbellew, Gort, and Portumna. The other seven assistants are in Fire Prevention.
According to Cllr Cameron, media reports in early July quoted the county manager as saying there would be some cuts due to the shortfall of €490,000 in fire certs.
It now appears the number of Fire Prevention Assistant Officers are being deployed into operations by sending them on training courses which the fire-fighters would have normally attended and then to return as instructors.
Cllr Cameron feels this will lead to a situation where the city fire service will be “top heavy with instructors” and that this instruction could be carried out by the fire-fighters themselves.
“There is a health and safety issue at the core of all this redeployment which could affect the front-line manning levels of the city fire service,” he said. “The two full-time fire-fighter positions should be immediately filled given that Government approval has been already granted
