Meeting secured regarding Donegal’s island fire service

A meeting has been secured to discuss the fire service in the Glenties Municipal District (MD).

Scheduled for Monday, October 12, in Dungloe, the workshop will see the Donegal County Fire Service present to elected members of the Glenties MD.

Sinn Féin councillor John Sheamais Ó Fearraigh called for the national approach to emergency responses on offshore islands and to local service support to be outlined, as well as retained positions.

The motion follows the retirement of two retained firefighters at Arranmore Fire Service, who will not be replaced, prompting the launch of a community campaign, SOS.

Director of Human Resources, Economic Development and Emergency Services Garry Martin said: “There is a workshop agreed; certainly, we can go into detail in relation to Arranmore and the islands. There is a challenge in maintaining services in areas where the population is very, very low. It is more to do with the safety of the firefighters as opposed to the service they are providing.

“It is a really important service that we want to support fully to the extent of being able to respond to the needs of the people.”

Seconded by party colleague Cllr Gerry McMonagle, he requested that a workshop be held at a countywide level to detail the number of firefighter positions and the service overall.

Mr Martin stated that upon completion of recruitment, there will be 190 firefighters and that in 2026, the fire service cost approximately €12 million.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme