Emergency Services Ireland NATIONALISATION OF FIRE SERVICE BECOMES A BURNING ISSUE REMOTE DIGITAL RESPONDERS IN DISASTER ZONES LIMERICK MAN’S HIMALAYAN CHARITY CLIMB BID IRISH SOLDIERS ON SNOW PATROL TRAINING in SWITZERLAND issue 45 24 5 NEWS UPDATE 54 SPECIAL REPORT Sentencing for sexual crimes, under scrutiny 21 GLOBAL LEADERSHIP following recent high-profile cases in which Deputy Garda Commissioner Noirín sentences, are perceived as too lenient. O’Sullivan will join other emergency service leaders to address a global leadership 59 LIFESAVING conference in Belfast (31 July-1 August), FounDATION which is being held as part of the run-up to The presentation of the Ireland Medal for the 2013 World Police and Fire Games. 2012 to John Connolly is a fitting tribute to the founder of the Irish Lifesaving 23 ORDER OF MALTA Foundation, which celebrated its 10th Fundraising drives and other preparations anniversary at its recent conference on are well underway for the 30th Annual the promotion of research into the global Order of Malta International Camp in drowning epidemic. 42 August. Ireland’s Order of Malta aims to recruit over 250 Irish volunteers for the 67 SCOTTISH FIRE week-long event in Kildare. INVESTIGATIONS Current and future challenges for fire 24 FirE SERVICE investigation in Scotland were outlined by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Prof Niamh Nic Daeid from the University is now looking at a part-time fire and rescue of Strathclyde, at a recent conference service instead of earlier proposals for organised by the FIAI. privatisation, but just how successful has privatisation worked in other countries? 74 MOUNTAIN SURVIVAL For the past 15 years the Swiss army has 31 WilDFIRE MANAGEMENT been training foreign troops in mountain Collaboration between the authorities is skills as part of Switzerland’s contribution 74 the best way to stamp out wildfire incidents to NATO’s Partnership for Peace project. in Ireland in future, in light of the resource Two members of the Irish Defence Forces constraints at local authority level, according have completed the four-week winter to a fire management specialist at the Dept mountaineering course. of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. 79 MOUNTAIN RESCUE 39 ChiEF FIRE OFFICERs’ With dogs continuing to play an invaluable ConFERENCE role in search and rescue operations, this An area of land more than half the size year’s Mountain Rescue Ireland conference of County Louth was destroyed by fire in was hosted by the Search and Rescue Ireland during the first four months of 2013, Dogs Association in Clare. and the Chief Fire Officers’ Association has suggested that the majority of the fires were 83 LEADERSHIP TRAINING started maliciously or deliberately. Inter-agency working and different 99 leadership styles were two main themes 42 CHARITY CLIMB running through the recent course for Limerick mountaineer Mark Quinn is to scale voluntary emergency services, organised new heights in aid of two charities, and if by Mountain Rescue Ireland, writes course successful the 29-year-old will become the team leader Pat Holland. first Irish man to climb two of the world’s highest mountains in the Himalayas. 91 SECURITY INDUSTRY The Irish Security Industry Association’s first 49 DiSASTER RESPONSE female president, Sheenagh McCullagh, The explosive growth in the use of digital plans to raise its profile and open a debate technology as well as the concept of on outsourcing government security to ubiquitous connectivity is having a huge private firms. impact on the area of disaster response. Emergency Services Ireland is online at www.oceanpublishing.ie/emergency and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/EmergencyIRLMag Emergency Services Ireland 1 issue 45 111 115 Emergency Services Ireland NATIONALISATION OF FIRE SERVICE BECOMES 99 GARDA INSPECTORATE by representatives from the HSE National A BURNING ISSUE The new Garda Inspectorate team is Ambulance Service and senior HSE REMOTE DIGITAL RESPONDERS IN investigating the effectiveness and efficiency management to GPs, public representatives DISASTER ZONES of Garda crime investigation processes, and community groups in the region. LIMERICK MAN’S HIMALAYAN CHARITY CLIMB BID covering a wide spectrum of policing activity. IRISH SOLDIERS ON SNOW PATROL 139 CommuniTY POLICING TRAINING IN SWITZERLAND 107 OVERSEAS AID Community policing is now a vital link Gorta is to provide self-sustaining social between Gardaí and members of local enterprise to Kenya - the ‘Factory in a Box’, communities, with initiatives such as system - developed by Zimbabwean and the Junior Liaison Programme and the Irish resident Wayne Deegan. Neighbourhood Watch proving very popular. EDITOR Grace Heneghan 111 WORLD POLICE & FIRE 142 ArmED FORCES DAY GAMES Royal Air Force pilots and aircraft will take PUBLISHER Belfast and Northern Ireland is on schedule part in the centenary celebrations of Armed Patrick Aylward to deliver one of the best World Police Forces Day on 22 June, marking 100 years and Fire Games ever from 1-10 August, since the first military aircraft arrived in GRAPHIC DESIGNER according to Mike Graham, President of the Ireland to support an army exercise near Catherine Doyle WPFG Federation. Limerick. ADMINISTRATION 115 ROAD SAFETY STRATEGY 145 EmERGENCY SERVICES Anne-Marie Moran A new seven-year road safety strategy, ShoW 2013 rolled out to make Ireland one of the safest Now in its eight year, the UK’s premier event CIRCULATION countries in the EU, will also aim to focus on for bluelight services, voluntary workers Lynda Garry measures to curb the number and severity of and service providers moves to The NEC, serious road collision injuries. Birmingham on 25 to 26 September. Emergency Services Ireland 14 Upper Fitzwilliam Street 121 EU ROAD SAFETY 147 CollEGE OF POLICING Dublin 2 Now ranked amongst the top five safest The UK’s College of Policing will host a T: 01-6785165 EU countries for fatal collisions, Ireland has ‘What Works Centre’ to identify the best been urged by EU Transport Commissioner approaches to crime reduction and potential F: 01-67851910 Vice President Siim Kallas to lead the way in savings to the police service, their crime E: [email protected] driving down serious injuries. reduction partners and the public. W: www.oceanpublishing.ie 125 AmbulANCE WEST CORK 149 UK NEWS Plans to modernise the ambulance service Whilst every effort has been made to operations in West Cork have been outlined 161 INTERNATIONAL NEWS ensure that the information included in correct, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors, omissions or discrepancies. The views expressed are no Emergency Services Ireland is online at www.oceanpublishing.ie/emergency necessarily those of the publisher. and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/EmergencyIRLMag All Rights Reserved Emergency Services Ireland © 2013 Emergency Services Ireland 3 NEWS UPDATE HUGE DEMAND FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAINING huge demand for suicide suicide, know how to offer hope and prevention training has then how to offer help and save a life A led a national suicide “Gatekeepers include healthcare prevention and bereavement charity professionals, parents, friends, to organise more programmes in neighbours, teachers, doctors, Dublin to enable people to learn nurses, priests, work colleagues, how to help save lives. Gardaí, caseworkers, and others “Question, persuade and refer are who are strategically positioned to three simple steps that anyone can recognise and refer someone at risk quickly learn to help save a life from of suicide,” Console’s CEO added. suicide,” noted Paul Kelly, founder All participants will receive the and chief executive of Console. QPR Gatekeeper Certificate awarded “Just as people trained in CPR by The QPR Institute help save thousands of lives each Console also offers counselling year, people trained in QPR learn how services and 24-hour helpline support to recognise the warning signs of a to people in crisis and those bereaved suicide crisis and how to question, by suicide. The charity has full-time persuade and refer someone to help.” centres in Galway, Dublin, Cork, Kelly pointed out that people Limerick, Wexford, Mayo and Kildare. considering suicide may feel that Counselling is available for nobody can help them or understand any individual, couples, families or their pain. “When unable to see any children who have been affected by other way of dealing with pain, suicide suicide. Console can be reached may seem to be a way out.” at any time on freephone 1800 201 People trained in QPR learn how to recognise the warning signs of a suicide crisis, says As a QPR-trained gatekeeper, 890 and many resources and useful Paul Kelly, founder and CEO of Console, those who complete training will learn information can be found at www. to recognise the warning signs of console.ie CALLS for Justice minister to act NOW BY reguLating EVENT SECURITY embers of the Irish Security Industry Association’s deemed suitable to work in security, there are no guarantees Event Security Division are calling on Minister that the background of an individual working in event security MShatter to uphold the promise he made last year will have been checked. The policies and procedures may to implement regulation and licensing for both contractors vary greatly from event to event, as there is no minimum and employees working in the area of event security. standard,” he added. Although, many areas of private security currently require both contractor and employees to hold a license, in the area of event security there is nothing in place to prevent companies from employing staff who have no formal training and have not been properly vetted as being suitable to fulfil a security role. “Over the next number of months we estimate that public footfall at concerts, festivals and sporting fixtures could be close to 3.5 million, if not more. Those millions of individuals will have an expectation that they will be able to rely on the organisers of the event to ensure that they are kept safe and secure,” noted Michael McQuillan, chairman of the ISIA’s Event Security Division.