BALLINCOLLIG Fire Station needs to be urgently reopened, because fire crews in Cork City are vastly overstretched, according to two Cork Sinn Féin TDs.

Calls have been made in recent weeks to reopen the fire station, with firefighters holding public demonstrations to illustrate the need. The station has been closed since November 2021.

Sinn Féin TDs Thomas Gould and Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire raised the issue in the Dáil on Tuesday night.

Mr Gould said that fire-brigade staff have voiced the need for a proper fire service for Cork.

He said that city firefighters have had to cover a larger area and population since the boundary extension, but without an increase in staff.

“They do trojan work and save lives regularly, in addition to businesses and homes, and they need the pump in Ballincollig reopened,” said Mr Gould.

“The staff who man it tell me they are overstretched. The council keeps pointing to a recruitment campaign for retained staff to reopen the service, but the reality is that this has failed.

“The campaign has been running since October 2020, almost three years, but the council has yet to hire a single retained staff member,” he added.

“We need full-time staff and Ballincollig Fire Station needs to be reopened.”

Mr Gould highlighted a recent motion at Cork City Council, unanimously calling for the station to be reopened and calling on the Government to provide the necessary funding.

Mr Ó Laoghaire said that Ballincollig has grown from a village 50 years ago to one of the biggest towns in Ireland.

“There are well over 20,000 people there and when the census results come out, there could be 25,000 people,” he said.

“The fire service has been there for much of that time, but the growth in the area has significantly overtaken the station.

“It is important to understand this, and not only in the context of Ballincollig. It is very important for Ballincollig and its outlying area.

“The staff there are pulling their hair out. They are concerned for their own situation and the implications for the safety of the people of Cork.

“Clearly, the retained firefighter model is not working for Ballincollig,” he added.

A public demonstration, organised by locals, to demand the reopening of Ballincollig Fire Station, will take place at 6.30pm today on Ballincollig’s Link Road.