A top Northern Ireland Fire Authority representative has been sacked after a row erupted during the national pay negotiations, the Government announced today.
Mrs Rosemary Craig has been told she is too disruptive to continue working at the board's headquarters in Lisburn, Co Antrim.
With union chiefs demanding her dismissal following repeated clashes, Stormont Minister Mr Des Browne decided it was time to end the fighting. He said: "I have come to the view that Mrs Craig is unfit to continue in office and that her appointment should be terminated with immediate effect."
Mrs Craig, a Justice of the Peace from Co Down, was tonight unavailable for comment.But SDLP Assembly member, Mr John Dallat, demanded reassurances from the Minister that his decision was not because she had spoken out about alleged problems in the authority.
He said: "The Fire Authority has had a troubled history in recent years and has failed to deliver the standard of strategic management which our excellent firemen and the public have a right to expect.
"We need board members who are prepared to probe and challenge every aspect of the organisation and insist on transparency."
Tensions heightened after Mrs Craig claimed she had been sidelined in National Joint Council negotiations to end the firefighters' strike at which she was Northern Ireland's only representative.
Alleged remarks made at a passing-out parade for new recruits in Belfast only placed further strain on her relationship with Fire Brigades Union spokesman Mr Jim Barbour.
Amid claims of getting no support for her efforts, Mrs Craig faxed a letter to Fire Authority headquarters last month to say she was quitting.
Both her chairman, Mr William Gillespie, and Mr Browne received copies of her resignation. Another letter was sent in requesting all fire authority belongings be removed from her home.
But her bosses were left stunned when Mrs Craig then declared she had not quit because the original resignation letter had not been posted directly to Mr Browne.
After consulting closely with legal representatives, it is understood Mr Browne listed a number of instances where her conduct has been called into question.
These include her decision to send in a letter of resignation and then claim she did not want to step down.
Alleged public rows with other fire representatives in Northern Ireland also added to the tensions.
Mr Barbour tonight praised the Minister's decision.
He said: "Our only regret is that it has taken him so long to act.
"The department has been aware of problems for some time but did nothing until now."
The union representative claimed the relationship between firefighters and employers in Northern Ireland could now be improved.
He added: "I have already had a positive and constructive meeting with Mr Gillespie, although we still have problems with the authority's inherent unaccountability."
PA