Kilbeggan Fire Station struggling to recruit firefighters

Kilbeggan Fire Station has been experiencing difficulty in recruiting retained firefighters, and the service is hoping a new recruitment campaign later this year will raise the rural station up to its full complement.

Chief Fire Officer Joe Cassidy told members of Westmeath County Council that Kilbeggan currently has 10 firefighters against an authorised complement of 12, despite four recruitment competitions having been held for the area since 2023.

Mr Cassidy said recruitment was proving more difficult in Kilbeggan because of the location and proximity to larger urban centres, including Mullingar, Athlone and Tullamore, as well as meat factories in the area.

A new recruitment campaign is due to be advertised in the fourth quarter of this year, following a series of fire service open days over the coming weeks. Mr Cassidy also said there was hope that a firefighter currently in Australia would return to the service.

The chief fire officer was responding to questions from councillors during a discussion on the council’s Fire and Emergency Operations Plan 2026-2031.

Cllr Liam McDaniels, who lives in Kilbeggan, asked whether the two rural stations in Kilbeggan and Castlepollard had their full complement of personnel and whether recruitment difficulties remained an issue.

He praised the county’s fire service, describing the service provided in both urban areas and the two rural stations as excellent.

Mr Cassidy explained that the allocation of firefighters to stations had been increased nationally in 2023, following the retained fire service strike and a Workplace Relations Commission agreement. The permitted complement at both Kilbeggan and Castlepollard rose from nine to 12.

While Kilbeggan remains short of two firefighters, Castlepollard is now at full strength, with a retained station officer, three retained sub-officers and a crew of eight. A panel is also in place to fill any vacancies that arise.

The stations in Athlone and Mullingar are at full capacity.

Mr Cassidy explained that staffing numbers were controlled nationally by the department and depended on whether a station was rural or urban and on the number of fire appliances it operated.

Athlone and Mullingar are two-pump stations, each with a whole-time station officer and 15 firefighters.

The recruitment issue was raised as councillors considered the council’s new Fire and Emergency Operations Plan, which sets out the framework for delivering services over the next five years.

The plan also outlines operational and capital investment requirements and educational measures intended to support the service into 2030 and beyond.

The chief fire officer said Westmeath had a system of predetermined attendance areas designed to ensure that the nearest available fire service responded to an emergency.

Westmeath was among the counties with a predetermined first attendance arrangement covering all areas, he said, and responses provided by Westmeath brigades or neighbouring county services are under Section 85 agreements.

The objective was to ensure that the nearest available resource attended an incident, regardless of county boundaries.

Mr Cassidy said the service hoped to have Kilbeggan back to its full complement by the end of the year.