The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in 2021 directed the Management Board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) to review the delivery and sustainability of the local authority ‘Retained’ Fire Services, with particular emphasis on the recruitment and retention of staff. Following substantial engagement with retained firefighters, staff representatives, fire service senior management and local authority employers, together with in depth research and analysis of the current model, the project team completed a review titled “Retained Fire Services in Ireland - A Review of Recruitment and Retention and the Future Sustainability of Service Delivery”.