Picket under way at Kilkenny Fire Station, with day-long closures on way for several local stations

Local fire stations will see scheduled closures in the coming days as part of an escalation of industrial action by the trade union representing workers.

Urlingford, Kilkenny City, Freshford, Thomastown, Castlecomer, Callan and Graignamanagh will all close at some point for a day. Retained firefighters staged pickets at several fire stations this week, including in Kilkenny.

The industrial action began last week with retain firefighters refusing to engage with scheduled training and courses.This is set to continue into a second week, with closures to affect three Kilkenny fire stations per day for seven days.

There are approximately 2,000 SIPTU members who work as retained firefighters at more than 200 fire stations around the country, providing fire and first-responder emergency services across the country. Retained firefighters are not full-time employees and are instead paid a retainer to be on call for fire stations. The system is designed to provide 24/7 cover, with retained firefighters also receiving a per-callout fee.

The retained firefighters are striking to ensure that the Government’s report on the future of the service will be implemented to resolve the recruitment and retention crisis.

The firefighters say that all stations will cooperate with life threat calls during this second week of action.