The national retained firefighters service is suffering severe difficulties in the recruitment and retention of staff. The model on which the current service is operating was developed in the 1950s and is not fit for purpose in a modern working environment. I acknowledge that the Department has undertaken investment in my constituency, with a new fire station in Tuam, a contractor having been appointed for Athenry and the Loughrea fire station going to Part 8 planning. It is great to have the facilities but we also need to have retained firefighters in place so that they can man the fire stations and protect people. If we learned anything from what the retained firefighters did in Creeslough, it is important that we take this on board as a matter of urgency and sort it out.

I take the opportunity, as I have done previously, to thank all the women and men in the retained fire services for the work they do 365 days a year. As the Deputy stated, the way in which they responded to the terrible tragedy in Creeslough was a shining example of the really important work they do. I will make two points in respect of the fire services. The Government has brought forward a capital plan of €62 million over five years, as the Deputy mentioned. We are seeing upgrades and new stations, fire tenders and equipment across the country. The retained service is crucial. The review is time bound. The Taoiseach has engaged directly on this. The review relates to how we can improve conditions for the retained service but also attract more people in. One of the issues has been ensuring that people's employers, depending on the job they are doing, will give them the time to do that work. In that regard, there is the potential to move to a shift base. Dennis Keeley, the chief fire officer in Dublin - I will conclude on this important point, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle - is heading up that review with colleagues.

We are over time.

I expect to have details of that shortly and I will inform the House and the Deputy of how it moves on.