Mr. Dennis Keeley:

I will respond to Deputy O'Sullivan's query on resources. Dublin Fire Brigade has 35 members of staff in the fire prevention section. It is a challenging area in terms of staff retention, as a number of people move on because of external promotions. There is ongoing recruitment to maintain that number and we try our best to keep the number at that level. We have a targeted risk-based inspection programme based on our resources. We profile on a risk basis approach and under that, a high level of risk would be assigned to buildings where people are sleeping, such as hostels, hotels and hospitals. We are in discussions with Dublin City Council on the issue of staffing and that process is ongoing.

Deputy Ó Broin asked about the position when works are not progressing. In such circumstances, we try to engage with the owner occupiers. We have found the need, unfortunately, to go to court to ensure that people are safe in buildings and make the buildings safe. In the past year, we served 14 fire safety notices and there were two High Court actions and 12 prosecutions. Our ultimate idea is to engage with the stakeholders and ensure that people work with us. Unfortunately, as the figures show, there are occasions where we have to use our powers.

On the question of the non-notifying of householders when action is taking place, when dealing with apartment complexes where we discover faults or fire safety issues, our procedures provide that we will deal with the owners' management companies and inform them of the type of action that will take place. As part of that process, we try to ensure a leaflet drop for every resident is provided, outlining the action that is taking place and a range of fire safety features that should be considered both generally and while the work is being done. The remaining issues have been addressed.