Longford Westmeath Deputy Sorca Clarke is calling for the government to immediately intervene to address the concerns of retained firefighters.
Her appeal comes as the retained firefighters began industrial action yesterday in a dispute over pay and more time off-call.
Deputy Clarke says these issues are not new and the problems have been known about for several years now.
She says Sinn Fein put forward a Dail motion last November in an effort to establish a special committee to identify a way forward for the service, but the government voted against it.
Speaking on the Lets Talk show today, Deputy Clarke said the government promised last year that they would bring forward their own proposals, but nothing has happened since…
"Firefighters themselves have been highlighting issues within the retained fire service for years, nigh on decades at this point in time. They have been very clear in the asks that they are making and they are entirely reasonable. They are looking for increased pay structures, with more structured leave along with further talks with stakeholders. The door hasn't been closed on communication by anybody here. The problem is that those who are in a position to implement change are simply not answering the knock on the door
