How to Become a Retained Firefighter in Ireland 2026: Requirements

Q: How do you become a retained firefighter in Ireland?

You apply directly to the city or county council that runs the station near you, when it advertises. There is no national competition. Selection typically involves literacy and numeracy testing, an aptitude assessment, practical and physical tests including ladder work, an interview, a medical and Garda vetting.

Q: What licence do you need to be a retained firefighter?

A category C licence is what Limerick looks for, and if you do not hold one when appointed you must get it within the first year. You will be expected to drive fire brigade vehicles.

Q: How much does a retained firefighter earn in Ireland?

You start on EUR 17,021 and the scale reaches EUR 31,028 after 8 years. The individual points in between are not published by the employer, so this page does not guess at them. The full picture is on the retained firefighter pay page.

Q: What age can you become a retained firefighter?

You need to be 18 or over. The more important number at the other end is the retirement age of 55, with an option to continue to 62 subject to a formal application and an annual occupational health test.

How you get in

Whenever that council recruits

Apply to your local council

Anyone living and working near a station

There is no national competition and no central list. Each city or county council recruits for its own stations when it needs to, usually building a panel that vacancies are then filled from. Which means the only campaign that matters to you is the one run by the council whose station you live beside.

Weeks, not years

Then the recruit course

Everyone who is offered a place

Initial training covers firefighting skills, ladders, hose and equipment work, fire behaviour in a compartment, breathing apparatus for entering smoke filled buildings, emergency first response, patient handling and water rescue. Training nights continue for as long as you hold the job.

What you need to get in

There is no standardised selection process across the 27 fire services, so the exact bar moves from county to county. The rows below are from the Limerick City and County Council briefing document of March 2026, and they show the shape of what is asked. Your own council will publish its own version.

Requirement	What Limerick asks for
Distance	Within 7 minutes driving of the station	From home and from your workplace
Driving licence	Category C, or obtained within the first year	Desirable at the point of appointment
Citizenship	EEA, UK or Swiss, or a valid permission	Required by the date of any job offer
Health	Occupational health assessment	Fitness testing is part of selection
Vetting	Garda vetting	Under the National Vetting Bureau Acts

The distance rule is the one that decides most applications, and it is stricter than people expect. Limerick sets it at seven minutes driving time and applies it to both your home and your place of work, because a firefighter who lives beside the station but works forty minutes away cannot turn out during the day. Other councils set their own figure, so check the one that recruits for your station.

The part that has nothing to do with you

Retained firefighting is the only job on this site where your employer has to agree to it. You need to be able to leave work at short notice when the alerter goes, which means either being self employed or having an employer willing to let you walk out of a shift. Plenty of otherwise ideal candidates fall at this point, so it is worth settling before you apply rather than after.

Retirement is earlier than everywhere else

The retirement age for retained firefighters is 55, with the option of continuing to 62 subject to a formal application and passing an annual occupational health test. That is decades earlier than the rest of the public service, and it is worth factoring in if you are joining later in life.

What you earn, during and after

While you train

You are paid, but the shape of the pay is unlike any other job here. A retained firefighter is not on a salary for hours worked. You get an annual retainer simply for being available, and then payments on top for the calls you turn out to and the drills you attend.

The figures below are the retainer alone. Call out and drill payments sit on top and vary with how busy your station is, so two firefighters on the same retainer can earn quite differently.

Retainer, first year

€17,021

Retainer, station officer at 8 years

€31,028

Figures effective 1 June 2026. See the full pay page.

Where things stand right now

There is no single national competition to watch. Councils recruit for their own stations when they need to, so the place to look is the vacancies page of the city or county council whose station you live near, not a national jobs site. Panels formed from a competition can stay live for a year or more, which is why campaigns can seem rare.

Checked 20 August 2026

Questions people actually ask

How do you become a retained firefighter in Ireland?

You apply directly to the city or county council that runs the station near you, when it advertises. There is no national competition. Selection typically involves literacy and numeracy testing, an aptitude assessment, practical and physical tests including ladder work, an interview, a medical and Garda vetting.

How close do you have to live to the fire station?

Close enough to turn out fast, and each council sets its own figure. Limerick requires you to be within seven minutes driving time of the station, and it applies that to your workplace as well as your home. This is the requirement that rules most people out.

Do you need your employer's permission to be a retained firefighter?

In practice yes. The job requires you to leave work at short notice when a call comes in, so you need to be self employed or have an employer who agrees to release you. It is worth sorting out before you apply.

What licence do you need to be a retained firefighter?

A category C licence is what Limerick looks for, and if you do not hold one when appointed you must get it within the first year. You will be expected to drive fire brigade vehicles.

How much does a retained firefighter earn in Ireland?

You start on €17,021 and the scale reaches €31,028 after 8 years. The individual points in between are not published by the employer, so this page does not guess at them. The full picture is on the retained firefighter pay page.

Is retained firefighting a full time job?

No. You keep your ordinary job and hold this alongside it. You are paid a retainer to be available rather than a salary for hours worked, plus payments for the calls you attend and the drills you do. Most retained firefighters have another employer entirely.

What age can you become a retained firefighter?

You need to be 18 or over. The more important number at the other end is the retirement age of 55, with an option to continue to 62 subject to a formal application and an annual occupational health test.

How long is retained firefighter training?

Weeks rather than years, and it starts with a recruit course followed by a breathing apparatus course. Training does not really stop though, because attending drill nights is a condition of holding the job.

Do all the fire services in Ireland have the same requirements?

No, and this is the thing to understand before applying. There are 27 fire services and no standardised testing or selection process across them. Distance rules, testing and timing all differ, so the only requirements that apply to you are the ones published by your own council.

Before you apply

Everything on this page comes from official sources and was checked in 2026. Entry rules, closing dates and selection stages still change from one competition to the next, and sometimes overnight. Before you apply, read the official version yourself. That is the one that counts.

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How to become a retained firefighter in Ireland