Ms Sheenagh Rooney:

It is important to acknowledge the Deputy's contribution on the sad case of Ms Miriam Reidy. We are aware of it and, unfortunately, other cases of deaths due to carbon monoxide. We take our responsibilities in that regard seriously. That is why we are involved in the carbon monoxide campaign, in which we try to emphasise the need for people to know the causes, to maintain their boilers and, if necessary, to have carbon monoxide alarms installed. If we can get that message across today, it will have been worthwhile.

As to what we are doing about the problem, it has been acknowledged that the incident occurred on a commercial premises. While the scheme we have put in place tackles the issue of the competence of those installing on domestic premises, it does not tackle the requirement for someone to be registered in the case of commercial premises. Last year we published a consultation paper on our website, with the specific purpose of bringing the requirements that applied in the domestic sphere into the commercial one. We will shortly publish a draft decision paper proposing a scheme to require those conducting such gas works on commercial premises, including hotels, to be qualified, trained, audited and inspected. This is something concrete we can do to extend the scheme and protect people's safety.

Every gas incident like the one mentioned is reported to us. We co-ordinate a gas safety committee comprising various representatives, including of the Department and people involved in the industry. We examine every incident to determine whether anything can be done to make the standards or elements of the scheme more rigorous.