As I speak, retained firefighters are on strike. Rolling work stoppages will see half the fire stations in the service shut. This will be followed by all-out strike action next week outside of emergency calls. The strike is unprecedented and certainly has not been undertaken lightly. Retained firefighters have been pushed to the very brink by the Government and feel they have been left with no choice. They are the very best of our communities. They do their jobs under incredibly difficult circumstances, acting as first responders at scenes most of us could never even imagine. They are saving lives while often putting their own lives on the line. Their work is essential, highly skilled, lifesaving and totally undervalued by this Government.

Retained firefighters are at their wits' end. They are on call 24-7, 50 weeks of the year. They are underpaid and overstretched, and feel totally let down. For years they have urged the Government to deliver a proper plan to ensure they have safe working conditions and fair pay, but the Government has buried its head in the sand. Fire services should be a basic public service that communities can rely on and not an optional luxury. Years of underinvestment and failure to plan by the Government have seen these services run into the ground and there is now clearly a recruitment and retention crisis. Staff shortages are worryingly common and unions warn that staff levels are often dangerously low. Indeed, some fire authorities have been forced to temporarily close stations due to unsafe staffing levels. There is a real risk that all of this could get even worse. The Government's most recent review reveals that 58% of current retained firefighters warned they were likely to leave the service within the next three years, forced to give up a job they love because they cannot continue. Negotiations with the firefighters' representatives have been insufficient and in any event have broken down.

Tá an tseirbhís dóiteáin atá ar bhonn páirtaimseartha faoi bhrú. Níl an dara rogha acu ach dul ar stailc. Leis na blianta gan infheistíocht cheart agus ceannaireacht lag ón Rialtas, ní mór don Rialtas plean Shinn Féin a chur i bhfeidhm agus a chinntiú go bhfaigheann foireann na seirbhíse dóiteáin an pá cothrom agus na cúinsí oibre sábháilte atá á lorg acu.

Sinn Féin has brought forward solutions to resolve this matter and our proposals will come before the Dáil tonight. Our plan urges the Government to engage in proper good-faith negotiations with representatives of the retained firefighters to address their concerns without delay and to prevent any further escalation of industrial action. This needs to happen urgently. Our plan would empower the Government to bring forward a financial investment package to ensure the service gets the funding and resourcing it needs. This would allow for the creation of a system with safe staffing levels. Will the Taoiseach stand with our firefighters? Will he back Sinn Féin's plan to support the retained fire services? Will he support our motion tonight?

I thank the Deputy. At the outset, on behalf of the Government, I want to express our shock and horror at the events in Nottingham today. We do not yet know the details because only a certain amount of information is available but it is clear there have been fatalities and a number of injuries. We extend our condolences to those whose loved ones or friends have been killed. We send our best wishes for a speedy recovery to those who have been injured. We will be in touch with British authorities today to offer any assistance we can give and, of course, our solidarity.

In respect of the matter raised by the Deputy, the Government values the work of our retained firefighters. They are highly committed front-line responders, providing an exceptional service in communities across the State.

We know that their terms and conditions need to improve and we are committed to making that happen. The Government has been working on this issue for a number of months. There have been negotiations and significant progress has been made with a proposal made to SIPTU, which included a 20% increase in staffing and elements of rebalancing of pay, with structured time off and more flexible working arrangements. This would all fall within the scope of Building Momentum, the public sector pay agreement that the unions and the Government are committed to and that both sides must honour.

I hope that the two sides can re-engage to resolve the dispute. The offices of the Government are available to intervene. The Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, would be the first port of call in that regard. My message to the public is that emergency contingencies are in place and that any emergency calls relating to fires will be answered.

Aontaím leis an Teachta. Tá an tseirbhís dóiteáin faoi bhrú. Beidh an fhadhb sin á réiteach ach caithfimid a bheith ag caint le chéile arís. Tá oifigí an Stáit, mar shampla, the WRC, ar fáil chun an chaint seo a chur ar siúl arís.

I thank the Taoiseach. As he well knows, the discussions broke down on 11 May. He has acknowledged that the retained firefighters are under pressure. As I said earlier, they are on call 24-7. They cannot move further than a radius of 2.5 km without sanction. They make very considerable personal sacrifices. Their retainer, their fixed salary, starts at the huge sum of €8,500 per annum. There has to be movement on that. The Taoiseach has to bring more than hope to the table or offer more than passing the buck. It is essential that there is meaningful engagement. There can be no further delay.

The relevant Department has had some limited contact with union representatives, but we need to see that stepped up. Positive comments that might be made here on the floor of the Dáil are all well and good, but what we need is a proper realistic offer that rewards these essential front-line workers for the lifesaving tasks they undertake. I agree with the Taoiseach in terms of getting back around the negotiating table. What will he, as Head of Government, do to make sure that good-faith negotiations resume without further delay?

In January, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, brought an independent report to Cabinet on the retained fire service. We accepted the recommendations of that report. Negotiations were ongoing up until a few weeks ago. A third-party negotiator, Mr. Ultan Courtney, was appointed to chair those talks. An offer was made which would involve: a 20% increase in staffing, with a minimum of 12 firefighters in all fire stations; structured time off, recognising the need for proper work-life balance; individual flexibility with regard to availability; 50 additional promotional positions; and flexibility to attend calls when scheduled on leave if desired.

There is an outstanding issue relating to core pay. The difficulty that arises is that we have an agreement with the trade unions as a whole on public sector pay. It is called Building Momentum. We are going to honour that agreement. It is only reasonable that we should expect the union side to honour that agreement as well. There is room for talks. There is room for compromise. There is the capacity for intervention. The offer is there to allow talks to resume and to do so under the offices of the WRC, which is the Government body that intervenes in disputes such as this.