About 200 firefighter paramedics in Dublin Fire Brigade who are members of trade union Impact are likely to ballot for industrial action in protest at new plans to transfer part of the current ambulance service to the HSE.
A union spokesman said on Thursday its members at Dublin Fire Brigade would be seeking formal approval next Monday from its municipal workers’ division to conduct the ballot for industrial action.
This authorisation is required under the union’s rules.
Trade union Siptu, which also represents staff at the Dublin Fire Brigade, has already announced its intention to ballot members on industrial action over the planned new reforms.
Impact said its members would co-ordinate their response with Siptu members in Dublin Fire Brigade.
On Monday Dublin City Council chief executive Owen Keegan announced plans to move Dublin Fire Brigade ambulance service call and dispatch function to the control of the HSE from later this year.
He said a new centre in Tallaght would provide unified call taking and dispatch and that this h would address the weaknesses identified in a recent report by the health service watchdog Hiqa.
Impact said it was anticipated that members of the oversight body for the Haddington Rd agreement on public service pay and productivity would meet with the Mr Keegan to emphasise the necessity to comply with the terms of the accord regarding any potential changes.
Impact national secretary Peter Nolan said proposed changes, which had been developed without consultation with workers, "would not address inefficiencies in the ambulance service identified in a recent HIQA report".
“The Dublin ambulance service operates on less than 10 per cent of the national service budget, yet responds to 40 per cent of ambulance calls nationally. It operates to the highest standards, and has a proven track record of excellence. The city cannot afford to have that excellence undermined.
“These measures, which look very much like the early steps toward subsuming the Dublin Fire Brigade’s ambulance service into the (HSE) national ambulance service, do not address the issue of average response times.
“We would raise the question of how response times might be affected if calls for the Dublin service are processed by the national ambulance service. This introduces an additional step in the response process which could increase response times rather than reduce them,” he said.
Mr Nolan said delays in Dublin response times, identified by HIQA, related only to non-critical calls.
“The response times to critical incidents are shorter, and reflect the level of excellence that Dublin citizens associate with the Dublin Fire Brigade.”
