Fire and emergency services in Galway will be put at great risk following the €7 billion cut in funding announced in the Budget, according to Labour councillor Neil McNelis.
According to the budget documentation, funding for local authority fire and emergency services is to be slashed from €19.2m in 2010 to €12.1m in 2011 - a cut of 37 per cent.
“This is a recipe for disaster, and will inevitably lead to reductions in services at local level, with potentially tragic consequences,” said Cllr McNelis.
Cllr McNelis has spoken with members of the fire department in Galway, asking about the cut, and he said the response has been that it will cause “a serious risk to emergency services”.
He said the cut “will cause alarm at local level and communities whose fire and emergency services are already under threat, and who will be now asking just how they can survive if these cuts are pushed through”.
Cllr McNelis said that while there is “some scope for efficiencies in the fire service”, there appears to be “no indication whatsoever” from Environment Minister John Gormley that he has “any plan” to restructure the service.
“In the absence of such a plan,” said Cllr McNelis, “local authorities like Galway will simply be handed down an edict that they will have to make do with a much smaller level of funding.”
