Location site for new Cork fire station not yet identified

Cork City Council are still looking for a suitable location for a new fire station in the south east of the city, four months after a fire-cover review identified the need for improved infrastructure.

Labour’s Ciara O’Connor submitted a motion to council, calling for expedited delivery of the new fire station, and the reopening of Ballincollig Fire Station on an interim basis, as well as asking for an update on the actions identified in the report.

David Joyce, the council’s director of emergency management and climate action, said that the latest National Oversight & Audit Commission’s (NOAC) report marked Cork first across all local authorities in terms of fast attendance at fires, but that they are “looking to the future” to keep improving their cover.

He said that they “are proceeding to move forward with the implementation of the recommendations, as set out in the recent fire-cover review report, which defines three distinct phases over three, seven, and 10 years, respectively”.

The station in Ballincollig “is not designed, nor suitable, for a full-time operational service”, so they are working on a new, full-time fire station in the south west of the city (between Curaheen and Ballincollig), as identified in the report, they said.

The review was published in June, along with a statement from council saying: “A funding application will be submitted to the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management for the implementation of the phase 1 recommendations over the next three years.”

Mr Joyce confirmed that this has not yet happened, saying: 

“Work has commenced on the identification of a suitable site for the new south-west fire station. Once a location has been assessed as suitable, a formal funding application will be made to the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management.”

He added: “As per the dates contained within the Crowe Fire Cover Review, the timeline for the implementation of phase 1 recommendations is three years, with these timelines being dependent of the required funding being secured.

“Councillors and the public will be updated on progress with regards to the delivery of this new infrastructure as this project progresses.”

Ms O’Connor commended the fire service for their overall speed, but said that there needed to be improvements in the south west, calling for the fire station’s delivery to be sped up.