Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests from Dublin Fire Brigade and thank them for the report, which raises many issues. We do not have all the answers but they are certainly very frank in setting out their issues. The witnesses identified areas and said they were in no order of priority so I presume they are all equal in priority and should be included and strengthened in the final document. They set them out, which was very helpful.

We would all be familiar with the terrible tragedy at Grenfell Tower. At that time and afterwards, there was much soul searching here. It was suggested that there did not appear to be a similar threat here but there needed to be a strengthening of the fire regulations. Eoghan Murphy was the Minister at the time and he commissioned a report on the Grenfell Tower fire's potential impact on Ireland and his responsibilities. That was done in June 2017. The report outlined many shortcomings, including fire prevention, protection of buildings and enforcement regulations, particularly around combustible cladding of buildings. An extensive audit was to be carried out across the local authority jurisdictions. I do not know how that was followed up. The witnesses might share their knowledge of that because it is an important concern that people relate to very much. It arises with regard to our challenges in getting higher densities, although we do not always have to have high-rise to have high density because there is a very subtle difference between the two, but that is a concern being expressed by some people. There is also a very substantial cost relating to health and safety requirements around apartments fed into standards, and rightly so, but that is a challenge and an issue for people involved in construction. Could the witnesses talk us through in terms of fire safety and the categories of buildings?

Another area of concern raised in this report was the potential exposure involving buildings providing sleeping accommodation because that is really important. People are sleeping in accommodation. These were identified as the ones in most urgent need of attention in terms of addressing them. The report dealt with hostels, short-term lets, bed-and-breakfast accommodation, student accommodation and dormitory accommodation, including boarding schools. It also included buildings subdivided into flats - older buildings with which Dublin Fire Brigade would be familiar, particularly in the city - and other sleeping accommodation buildings shared by unrelated persons because when you have a lot of people sharing accommodation, that is another complexity. There are also challenges around emergency and homeless accommodation, which is particularly challenging. I am more interested in hearing what the outcome of that report and all that engagement was. Can the witnesses assure us today that they are happy that all that has been followed through on? I would like to think they will be able to do that today because it is important.

Mr. Keeley is chief fire officer for Dublin fire services. Is he confident that he has the necessary resources and supports to fully carry out his functions and the remit for which he has a statutory responsibility? It is really important that we have that assurance and if he is not confident, I would like hear why he is not confident and what his needs are.

I live in Dún Laoghaire so I am perhaps more familiar with the Dublin scene. Could Mr. Keeley outline how he operates the services for the other three local authorities in Dublin? I understand he operates fire services for all four local authorities in Dublin, which is an important function. These local authorities have made a conscious decision to engage and have this collective shared service approach, which is a good one that makes sense. Could Mr. Keeley share his interplay or engagement collectively or individually with those local authorities? Perhaps there is a format for doing that. If so, could he share it with us?