Cllr Paddy McDonald called on Cavan County Council's support for the national retained fire services during a recent meeting of the local authority.
Speaking to Northern Sound, Cllr McDonald said that Cavan Fire Service recently advertised for personnel but nobody applied for the positions. He says that pay and conditions must improve for fire fighters both locally and nationally.
Cllr McDonald pointed out that fire fighters were at the front line of emergency situations and their important role in society needed to be acknowledge. He added they are also on call seven days a week, 24 hours a day and they must be paid "properly" for the work that they do.
"Firefighters are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a week except when they are on holidays. It's not viable for a fire recruit to join the fire service and it has been said that the service has not been fit for purpose since 2015.
"And if you look at it, their pay and conditions are simply not adequate," he added.
