County councillors in North Tipperary have unanimously rejected the council's 2005 budget proposals because of a plan to shut a village fire station.
Two councillors walked out of the meeting in Nenagh yesterday over plans by the county manager, Mr Terry Ó Niadh, to close Cloughjordan fire station and shed the jobs of the eight fire-fighters.
Before leaving the chamber in protest, Fianna Fáil's Cllr Jim Casey had proposed that the plan for closure be scrapped and that the council instead provide €250,000 for the construction of a new fire station in the village.
Cllr Casey said Mr Ó Niadh's claim that a proper fire-fighting service could be delivered to Cloughjordan by crews in other stations in the county was an insult to the people of the village.
Independent Councillor Michael O'Meara said lives would be lost if the station was shut down. He, too, then walked out of the meeting.
Every councillor present at the budget meeting spoke out against the plan, but Mr Ó Niadh said North Tipperary was not the only area where rural fire stations were being closed.
He said the council's chief fire officer had told him that the closure would not affect the level of service provided in Cloughjordan, which would be maintained to international standards. "Geographically we do not need seven fire stations in North Tipperary. There is a cost element in keeping Clougjordan open and I feel the money could be better spent in other areas."
The budget meeting was adjourned to January 5th to see if a compromise could be reached.