The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, has announced plans to set up a National Fire Authority that he says will be the "overarching body for fire services in Ireland".
He announced the proposals last night in Wexford at the annual Conference of the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA). The association has been calling on the Government for some years to overhaul the existing service.
Mr Tony Gleeson, the association's chairman, will tell the conference today the quality of service provided by fire officers have "deteriorated in many respects" due to the failure of the Government to create the authority.
He will say that the State has a very high rate of fire- related deaths, compared with international trends.
Mr Gleeson will tell delegates the failure to introduce the recommendations of a report, carried out by consultants Farrell Grant Sparks (FGS) meant the service had no confidence that any progress was being made to develop the service.
A report by consultants Farrell Grant Sparks cited a lack of leadership and focus in the fire service. It blamed the spread of authority across a range of statutory bodies. There are 37 fire authorities with huge operational variations, according to Mr Gleeson.
Mr Gleeson is expected to say no linkages exist between the fire service and the development of a disaster-management strategy.
An example of this was when the Government set up the Office of Emergency Management and a Government task force following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Mr Gleeson will say "no information has come through to chief fire officers about the deliberations of these bodies despite the fact that local fire brigades will always be the vanguard service".
