Walk a mile in a firefighter's shoes

Hey Mr. Government,
walk a mile in a firefighters shoes,
just stay inside the radius,
sure you know the rules…

You need to read the room,
witness the public reaction,
They understand the need
for this industrial action.

Retention and recruitment,
won’t happen at this wage,
Part time money
for full time in a 2.5 kilometre cage.

The strain on the family,
this lifestyle is not a keeper,
No beaches, no social life,
everyone slave to the beeper.

All the family on stand by, can’t be left with the kids,
For fear of the Beep, heaven forbid,
It goes off, and here’s where the problem is at,
Having to abandon the kids at the drop of a hat.

Kiss goodbye to any dreams
of playing or managing sports teams,
Sport is now off limits,
Firefighting being the game of minutes.

Throw also into the mix, missed weddings, Christmas Dinners,
Opening the presents with the kids, It’s all lose, lose, lose, I don’t see any winners?
And what is the cost for these life diminishing impacts?
Brace yourself, the princely sum of 99c an hour before tax.

So, that rules out mortgages,
banks only accept the retainer fee,
At 8 and a half grand,
the house better be bloody free!

It means part- time jobs are a retained fire fighters must,
But jobs in the radius are few, social welfare is the result.

And who wants to suffer the signing on blues,
Marching away your pride, drowning in the dole queues…

So Mr. Varadkar and O’Brien, You need to pull out the finger,
Lives are at stake, the longer you linger.

Firefighters just want enough to get by, to pay the bills,
Make their job worthwhile.

Hey Mr. Government,
Walk a mile in a firefighter’s shoes,
They put their lives on the line,
We need to pay them their dues.