Health Minister asked to intervene in Dublin City Fire Brigade strike threat
The Health Minister is being asked to intervene amid a strike threat by SIPTU members of Dublin City Fire brigade.
A ballot for industrial action is currently underway, over a shortage of ambulances for the city and what the union claims is the council's refusal to resource four extra vehicles to meet demand.
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Brendan O’Brien says the service answered 115,000 calls last year - with just 12 ambulances: "At the moment Dublin Fire Brigade Ambulance service responds to approximately 40% of the emergency calls nationally for ambulance assistance.
"The ambulances themselves coupled with the call and dispatch function, if the call and dispatch function was to be taken from Dublin Fire Brigade it would place an unsustainable and unmanageable additional work load on our colleagues in the national ambulance service."
A ballot for strike action is underway among SIPTU members of Dublin City Fire Brigade.
It is over a shortage of ambulances in the city and what it claims is the council's refusal to resource four extra vehicles to meet demand.
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Brendan O’Brien the situation's completely unacceptable, placing members of the community at risk, as well as placing unsustainable strain on DFB paramedics: "Unfortunately because of the actions of Dublin city council we have been given no option but to ballot for industrial action.
"We are in a consultative process with our members at the moment, the ballot will be conducted over the next number of weeks, obviously because of the different shifts, rosters and so on it takes a number of weeks to ballot everybody.
"We are balloting our members for industrial and strike action and that includes a full withdrawl of services."
