Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the joint committee for giving me the opportunity to discuss the recent matters concerning fire safety.

My Department takes fire safety very seriously. I am announcing today a series of measures to deliver best practice in terms of fire safety. The measures cover the following three broad areas: a programme of audits to ensure compliance with fire certificates; a range of measures for new builds to underpin the highest possible safety standards; and new procedures within the Department to ensure that all fire safety concerns are properly addressed.

Members have been supplied with a detailed statement. In the time allocated, I shall not go through the full text. Under the heading of audits, there are two forms of audits that we are introducing. First, we will have a comprehensive set of audits of the Western Building Systems involving 30 builds that it has undertaken. It was audits of five schools that were the subject of the statement back on 1 September. We are now doing a full audit of all of the WBS schools. It is important for me to say this is not based on a concern that we have. We believe that the premises have been to the highest standards but we just want to make doubly sure.

Second, we are going to introduce a series of representative audits. About 30 representative schools will be selected across a range of types of build, such as rapid build that has outsourced design and build. In terms of the different types of schools, other rapid schools have been built by other contractors. This is obviously to ensure that there is the highest level of compliance with the fire certificates that applied in those cases. They will cover schools built over the past 20 years, since new regulations were introduced about 20 years ago.

The second area where we are taking action, that I have outlined in my statement today, is in terms of new builds or schools that are being built. We have taken a number of measures there. We have written to all of the design teams currently involved in such builds to underline to them their responsibilities under the new building standards code. We have written to their associations to again underline the importance of this aspect of work in terms of schools in particular.

Finally, we have decided that we will appoint in each new project a clerk of works as well as the designated certifier. The initiative will act as the eyes and ears of the Department in terms of each individual new build. These are measures that we believe will ensure that all new builds are built to the very highest standard and fully compliant with the fire certificate that was issued at the time a planning application was submitted.

The third element where we are introducing new approaches is we are establishing an internal fire safety committee within the Department. It will oversee all applications that come our way in terms of fire issues be they audits, requests for additional works and right across the system to make sure that all of those applications are properly scrutinised in respect of the importance of fire safety for children. We are backing the initiative with the establishment of a new internal protocol. The protocol will ensure that where such matters come to the attention of the internal committee, it will establish their significance and then immediately engage with the fire officer where there is a significant issue involved, introduce a system whereby the patron and the school are duly informed of the issues, undertake whatever necessary audit is in place, design the works, seek and obtain approval both from the fire officer on the adequacy of the works and inform the school of the approach that is to be taken to deal with the issues concerned. Under the protocol, it will remain the responsibility of the schools to liaise with the wider school community, but they will do so with the very best information available to them.

We are, in addition, writing again to schools just to remind them of the various guidance and protocols that they have a responsibility to oversee. This initiative has come from them. We have engaged with the various patron bodies over the course of recent weeks. We feel that it would be appropriate to provide a circular that sets out the various issues because, as Members will know, there are issues around fire drills, fire safety equipment being on the premises and so on.

I believe we have put in place a comprehensive set of measures.

In respect of the individual schools which were the subject of the five audits and comment, in every one of these cases works are either under way or being put out to contract to be completed as a matter of urgency.

I want to give the committee an absolute assurance about what occurred. The fire certificates issued for the schools required a 60-minute retardation period, but it was found that some of the works had not fulfilled that requirement, which was why the wider audit was undertaken. In respect of each of the schools we have undertaken or are in the course of putting in place measures to ensure the original fire certificate specification will be met. In all cases we have, of course, as the first item, met the direct fire officer involved. The fire officer is fully satisfied with the approach we are taking in dealing with the individual schools. We have put in place a fresh approach which I am confident will deliver best practice. We will continue to monitor all aspects of the matter, with the much strengthened approach now in place.