Retained Firefighters in their 100’s to be recruited all over Ireland.

A Retained Firefighter is a professional firefighter, who is paid an annual retainer for being available on a 24/7 basis and also paid for actual hours worked.

They must live and work within 3km of their assigned fire station and at a location acceptable to the Chief Fire Officer.

They carry an emergency pager or alerter with them at all times and respond to their station when it goes off.

Since October of last year the minimum guaranteed salary for a new retained firefighter is €18,905 gross, or approximately €362 per week, rising to €22,203 gross per annum, or approximately €425 per week based on years of service.

In addition to the annual retainer, retained firefighters are paid an hourly rate of €23.75 per hour from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday and €47.50 per hour at all other times (public holidays attract the higher rate of pay).

Retained Firefighters also attend a 2-hour weekly on-station (drill night) training and undergo regular refresher training in certain areas to maintain their skills. Drill night training is paid at a rate of €47.50 per hour.

In the busier stations where there is more than 100 calls per year, they could earn more than €30,000 per annum.