Retained firefighters in Kilkenny and Carlow are continuing to strike for a second day.
As part of the industrial action half the stations in both counties will continue to close on a rotating basis.
If a resolution to concerns over pay and conditions isn’t found by next week, all retained fire stations will close.
Meanwhile, firefighters last night walked out of the Dáil as Minister Darragh O’Brien addressed a Sinn Fein motion on the issue.
Vice Chair of the retained firefighter SIPTU committee in Kilkenny, Keith Beehan says they are “disappointed” with Minister O’Brien:
“Well, ultimately, we were very disappointed with what we’ve heard. We were led to believe yesterday, during the day, that it was going to be a positive response from Darragh O’Brien. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. So the firefighters that were at the Dáil walked out. I think that says it all.”