Fire service budget warning

Dublin City Council can no longer afford to bear the increasing cost of Dublin's fire services, according to city manager John Tierney.

In a report on the city's budget for 2008, Mr Tierney said the cost of funding the fire service, at almost €113 million, is displacing funding for the city's other services and he intends to begin talks with the Department of the Environment in relation to alternative funding for Dublin Fire Brigade.

Mr Tierney has also criticised the lack of State funding for childcare and said the council intends to reduce its funding for creche places in disadvantaged areas, which he said should be provided for by other State agencies.

The council intends to spend more than €112.8 million on the fire services next year, an increase of more than €8 million on the estimated budget last year. The estimated income from fire protection in 2008 is just over €71 million, leaving a shortfall of in excess of €40 million.

The fire service is the city's fourth largest budget item after its housing, waste disposal and sewage/water services and accounts for about 12 per cent of the city's entire annual expenditure of almost €1 billion.

In his report, Mr Tierney said the city and surrounding region had grown at an unprecedented rate in recent years but the funding structure for services such as the fire service has remained unchanged. "Specifically in this draft budget the funding of the fire service has had significant impact on the overall resources of the council."

The fire services operated by the council on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities had to be expanded to cover the increased risk, he said.

"It is important to maintain adequate fire manning levels and consequently increased costs of service provision of the fire services fall directly to all of the Dublin authorities, displacing the funding of other services," he said.

The cost of providing social services that should be provided by other State agencies was also becoming an increasing strain on the council's budget, Mr Tierney said. The 2008 budget includes €540,000 for community creches and €460,000 for other childcare purposes including grants. The council had stepped in to provide these services, but was not receiving direct funding for them and so its other services were being affected, Mr Tierney said.