A UNION representing fire and emergency services workers has asked a junior minister to withdraw comments where he said firefighters who work on a part-time ‘retained’ basis were not “official” fire staff.

In a debate on fire services in the Seanad this week, junior minister Fergus O’Dowd said some counties operated a policy where some staff were “retained firemen”.

“While they wouldn’t be officially firemen, they are available to come out – and are trained to come out – in the event of a serious fire,” O’Dowd said.

The Irish Fire and Emergency Services Association this evening criticised the characterisation of part-time firefighters as unofficial firemen.

“This comment goes to show the little regard that both Minister O’Dowd and Minister [Phil] Hogan,” who is responsible for local authorities and therefore for fire services, “have for frontline personnel across the country,” said IFESA chairman John Kidd.

“Part-time retained professionals are exactly the same as full time professional fire-fighters and make up two-thirds of all fire-fighters in Ireland,” he said.

Kidd said that with the exception of major cities and a few large towns, these part-time staff were “the only type of operational fire-fighters available”, adding:

Retained fire fighters and their families feel completely undermined and insulted by these comments which show no understanding of the level of sacrifice made by them and their families 24 hours a day to provide a full time service at a part time rate.

IFESA has in the past been vocally critical of systems where part-time firefighters in some counties are excluded from applying for social welfare because they are considered unavailable to take up full-time work – by virtue of the hours they must devote to being ready for a fire call.

The association has called for the creation of a single national fire service, ending the system where each local authority fire area has its own chief fire officer and a high number of assistant chiefs.

Kidd said last week he had been barred from all Dublin Fire Brigade stations over his association’s stance on the current public pay talks.

Read: Firefighter union chief says he’s been barred from all Dublin fire stations