Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their attendance. Like Senator Fitzpatrick, I thank them and the men and women of the Dublin fire service and fire services throughout the State. They do not just provide a vital front-line public service; they put themselves in harm's way to keep all of us, our families and our communities safe. It is important to acknowledge that.

Sometimes, the most technical of the meetings of this committee are the most important. This is a very important discussion and I am delighted the witnesses are able to participate. It is important partly because it is such a long time since the technical guidance documents underpinning Part B of the regulations were last formalised. There have been some interim reviews, but 22 years is a long time to wait for updated guidance. not just for fire safety officials but also for people involved in the construction of buildings. It is really important that the Department concludes this work in a timely manner and that new technical guidance documents are published. I fully support the witnesses' proposition that there should then be periodic reviews every two to three years.

I have three questions. The first relates to coverage in the Business Postsome months ago pointing to a significant number of appeals of conditions attached to fire safety certificates by developers that were upheld by An Bord Pleanála, contrary to the advice of the Dublin fire service and other fire services. I understand these appeals generally related to more complex buildings, including buildings with underground car parks and buildings with multi-use occupancy, including nursing homes, apartment blocks, etc. Are the witnesses in a position to give us some information on that? My understanding is that in their endeavours to have international best practice at the forefront of the conditions of those fire certificates, they included certain requirements that were not necessarily statutory requirements under the 22-year-old technical guidance documents. I would like some information on that because we need to know whether such requirements should be included in the revised TGD B.

Second, I am delighted the witnesses referred to new building technologies. The committee is very interested in those technologies, both for environmental reasons and because of the speed aspect. However, it is absolutely vital, as a number of us have said, that as we move toward encouraging new building technologies, we do so in a way that provides the highest possible level of fire safety for the people who live and work in those buildings. We have had conversations on timber-based buildings, moving above 10 m, etc. Do the witnesses have any thoughts on the best way to ensure those kinds of buildings, particularly residential buildings, meet the best possible fire safety standards?

Third, reference was made to having updates perhaps every two to three years. Do the witnesses have any other observations on how to make sure we are in line at all times with best international and domestic practice?