Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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I congratulate the Dublin Fire Brigade on its bravery, dedication and professionalism in dealing with the major fire at the Metro Hotel at Ballymun last night. It involved 11 units of the Dublin Fire Brigade and 60 firefighters. I also thank the Garda, Dublin City Council and the other first responders on the scene for the work they did. What lessons can be learned from this fire? In particular, what has happened since the horrific Grenfell Tower fire in west London? What area risk assessments have been carried out on high-rise buildings in Dublin and throughout the country since that fire?

It is my understanding that many high-rise buildings, including this hotel which is 15 storeys high, apartment blocks and nursing homes etc., have not yet been given an area risk assessment. This is very serious matter. Cladding was an issue with the Grenfell Tower tragedy but we do not yet know what the position is here yet because assessments have not been carried out in many cases. Buildings may not be conforming to regulations and units in buildings may not be self-contained. If that is the case, the advice given to residents to remain in place in buildings is completely wrong, and they should be evacuated from the building.

There are many grey areas that really need investigation. I understand there was a problem with the lift in the hotel last night, which should also be examined. We need a full investigation into the fire and a full report on the progress of risk assessments of high-rise buildings in Dublin and throughout the country. Dublin Fire Brigade is not getting the resources it needs to do its job effectively and a direct funding mechanism should be put in place for the Dublin Fire Brigade. The Dublin Fire Brigade must be allowed to continue to provide an ambulance service as well, although that matter is separate and I will come back to it.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Like others I pay tribute in particular to Dublin Fire Brigade and all the other emergency services, including the Garda and Dublin City Council workers. As a result of their efforts, I am thankful that last night's disastrous fire brought no fatalities and, as far as we know so far, no casualties. I find it ironic that as Dublin Fire Brigade is rightly being showered with congratulations about this, it has had a running battle with the city manager for 15 years that has the aim of basically bringing down the standard of employment of firemen, who are experts in the safety of the people of Dublin and other citizens. It also concerns the proposed disbandment of the ambulance service.

Many trendy commentators constantly tell us that Dublin must go up and become high-rise and compact. At the same time we know what happened year after year, particularly during the Celtic tiger. There is the saying that doctors bury their mistakes but developers and contractors could also bury their mistakes in not meeting required fire standards. It is the reality. Everybody knows in this city that where people live in high-rises - I am referring to buildings with four to six storeys, never mind what the trendy people in government want for Dublin, which is 12 to 20 storeys - we are not getting full information about levels of fire safety and conditions and risks in building. There is a separate problem that the Minister will have to address. Last year in my constituency there was a disastrous fire in a block on a Saturday afternoon. I am thankful nobody was injured but the residents will now have to pay to bring the rebuilt buildings up to safety standards.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Last night I witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of a fire in a high-rise building in Ballymun. I also witnessed the courage of the emergency services, the Dublin Fire Brigade, gardaí and Dublin City Council in responding to the fire. We owe them our deepest gratitude for the courage and fortitude they demonstrated last night. The staff in the building should be thanked for the role they played in helping evacuate the almost 200 people in that building. However, we now need answers to a number of important questions.

How could a fire spread so quickly from floor to floor and apartment to apartment? How did the fire spread not just to apartments above the source of the fire but also to apartments below the source? Why did the fireproofing methods employed in the building not contain the fire to a better extent? What triggered the fire and how was the alarm raised? Were alarms and smoke detectors working on every floor and was every apartment checked? Is it the case that the fire brigade ladder could not reach the higher floors, as seemed to be evident if one was there? There is a serious question about getting proper ladders to reach higher floors. It must be addressed.

People will say it is too early for answers and the Minister will probably say the same thing. These questions must be answered, especially when we consider there are even higher skyscrapers around the city, with more being built. We cannot have a fire service that is under-resourced. There are serious problems with recruitment in the fire service and the equipment being used. This has been raised a number of times. Attempts to remove the ambulance service from the fire brigade have been ongoing for a number of years and it is totally unacceptable. Everybody knows that the first people responding are the ambulance service personnel in the fire brigade. They are always on hand.

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputies for raising this very important matter. A fire broke out in an apartment on the 13th floor of the Metro Hotel and apartment building in Ballymun at approximately 8 p.m. last night, Wednesday, 21 March 2018. The fire extensively damaged the 13th and 10th floors of the building. The building was evacuated successfully and there are no reports of missing persons or injuries at this point. Eleven units of Dublin Fire Brigade, comprising eight fire engines, two aerial appliances and the incident command unit, involving approximately 60 firefighters under the command of the chief fire officer, responded and assisted with evacuation, as well as fighting the fire.

The fire has now been extinguished but the fire brigade remains in attendance. An Garda Síochána was at the scene overnight and managed traffic in the area to facilitate firefighting. It is understood the Garda will investigate the cause of the fire. The Dublin Fire Brigade will also carry out an initial review of the scene and its response in the days ahead. At this point, I am sure Deputies on all sides will join with me in expressing appreciation to the emergency services and all others involved in responding to the incident last night. I was kept informed as events unfolded through liaison between the fire brigade and officials in my Department. None of us is on the front line when it comes to these types of emergencies but it seems very tense from our point of view. We can only imagine what the firefighters felt. They are incredibly brave in the work they do.

I turn now to the fire safety task force. I established it in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy of 14 June 2017 in recognition of fears expressed for fire safety in Ireland. On 27 June 2017, I tasked my Department's National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management with convening and co-ordinating a high level task force to lead Ireland's reappraisal of fire safety.

The task force held its tenth and most recent meeting on 22 February 2018. It discussed the most up to date draft of its report. In the intervening time, the national directorate had to deal with the significant snow event associated with Storm Emma and has not had an opportunity to consider the task force members' feedback on this latest draft. Notwithstanding this, I expect to receive the full report of the task force before the end of April.

In addition to establishing the task force, local authorities were requested to undertake a number of initial actions and the task force was requested to oversee and report on a review of fire safety in both social housing and fire safety in medium to high rise buildings. As part of these initial actions, local authorities, in June of last year, were asked to assess multistorey social housing buildings' fire detection and alarm systems, emergency lighting systems and common escape routes, including corridors, stairways and emergency exits, and to ensure that such systems are in place and fully functional.

The local authorities responded fully to my request and carried out the inspections and works arising within the required timeframes. To give an indication of the extent of this exercise, 1,230 multi-storey social housing buildings in Ireland were reported back to my Department. They contain 16,780 flats. The four Dublin local authority areas had 64% of the buildings and 77% of the flats, the two Cork local authority areas had 7% of the buildings and 5% of the flats and the Limerick local authority area had 4% of the buildings and 4% of the flats. Overall, the review was a comprehensive exercise. It highlighted that local authorities are fully engaged in their fire safety responsibilities to those who rely on social housing.

This initial work in respect of the appraisal of fire safety in medium to high rise buildings was carried out and all local authorities have reported back to my Department as requested. The work undertaken has identified 842 buildings within the medium and high rise category. A total of 291 of these were identified as having certain categories of external cladding. After preliminary consideration, local authorities, using their powers under section 18(6) of the Fire Services Act, have requested the persons having control of 237 of these buildings to have detailed fire safety assessments carried out. The work by persons having control of these buildings, and their professional advisers, to carry out and report the fire safety assessments is ongoing. As of the end of January, 99 fire safety assessments had been received by fire authorities, and further action is proposed or under consideration in eight cases - six residential and two non-residential.

A guidance note - fire safety guidance note 01 of 2017 - Assessing existing cladding systems in buildings of more than six storeys, or more than 18 m in height - was developed by a task force subgroup and has been circulated to fire authorities and placed on my Department's website as a support for those undertaking assessments of cladding in medium to high rise building. The task force subgroup will maintain oversight of the review of these assessments in the months ahead, dealing with any emergent issues and providing an oversight report at the end of the process. It is understood the building in Ballymun which went on fire last night was identified in the survey of medium to high-rise buildings undertaken as part of the work of the fire safety task force in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire. Initial indications are that cladding was not a contributory factor in this fire.

As indicated earlier, the fire will now be the subject to a full Garda investigation. The outcome will, of course, be carefully considered.

Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister.

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I hoped I might have additional time because the Deputies had additional time.

Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I will be flexible given the issue.

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that very much.

The fleet of fire engines available to fire services requires ongoing investment to ensure that reliable and appropriate fire engines are available to respond to emergencies. In order to ensure that fleet age profile is maintained, a further investment of €9.2 million, under the 2017 fire appliance procurement programme, was announced last year. It will see the construction and delivery of 23 new appliances between 2018 and 2020, with an expected contribution of €400,000 per unit from my Department's capital programme. Some fire authorities may choose to select aerial appliances - turntable ladders or hydraulic platforms - in lieu of allocated class B standard fire engines.

I look forward to receiving the overview of fire safety in Ireland which the task force is preparing. I expect it will propose a programme of fire safety initiatives to address what the task force identifies as the priority areas of concern with regard to life safety. The evacuation process worked successfully to ensure public safety in last night's incident. However, in conjunction with Dublin City Council and Dublin Fire Brigade, I will consider if there are specific issues arising from this incident which require follow up action. I again express our deep appreciation to all our emergency services personnel and everyone else involved in ensuring a timely and effective response to last night's incident. They do this work on a daily basis on behalf of all of us but sometimes it takes a serious and alarming incident, such as occurred last night, for us to realise the importance of the work they do and the bravery they have in doing that work.

Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I have been generous in my flexibility in allowing the comprehensive response to be read to the Deputies. They have a minute each to come back with a supplementary question. I call Deputy Haughey.

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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I note what the Minister has to say in respect of the fire safety task force and the inspections being carried out by the local authorities. It is important that any remedial works identified would be carried out as soon as possible. There is urgency in respect of this situation. I have been informed by personnel from the Dublin Fire Brigade that many buildings have still not been examined. That includes nursing homes and high rise buildings in the Clongriffin estate in my own constituency. We need clarity about that. There seems to be misinformation coming from some source. However, it is important that these remedial works are carried out.

Other speakers have mentioned the funding of the fire brigade. That is extremely important. It is believed that a direct funding mechanism is needed. The HSE is proposing the removal of the ambulance service from the Dublin Fire Brigade. This would be a retrograde step. The Dublin Fire Brigade must continue to provide a fire-based emergency medical service. That is international best practice. If it is not broken, do not fix it. The Minister should consult with the Minister for Health to ensure that is the case.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Will the Minister give a commitment to publish all these fire reports? People are worried about their safety in the event of a fire. I raised this with the Minister about a year ago when a four storey block of apartments in my constituency burnt down on a sunny Saturday afternoon. There were no injuries thankfully. However, because of the upgrade of those apartment blocks that must be done following that disastrous fire, the residents may now be charged significant amounts of money. The Minister cannot say to people who are struggling with mortgages that they have to find thousands of extra euro or get out an additional mortgage or loan to fund fire safety. I refer to the fact that they got a certificate stressing fire safety was adequate when they bought their apartment or acquired their mortgage. That has to be addressed.

We also have to look at the proposal of the Minister and his party to have high rise as the new norm in Dublin without having adequate fire safety. He must publish the fire reports from the task force he referenced. It is wrong that they are not being published. They should be available on the wall of every apartment block.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister mentioned the task force and its tenth meeting. I refer to not having anything back by April. There is an urgency because he said many buildings were identified where work needed to be done and much of that has not been done. That needs to be addressed and they need to be forced to deal with this. People have lost their homes. How will the Minister help with this? There are also 100 staff out of work. Will the Minister get welfare officers to contact people who need help? Is there compensation available? Are there counselling services for people who went through trauma?

Many items have been lost. Will the welfare officers be instructed to help these people in respect of what has been lost? It is very important. The Metro Hotel was built in the regeneration of Ballymun. It was one of the landmarks. It is important that we get to the bottom of this and that this hotel is operational again.

Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister has two minutes, and two minutes only.

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the additional time the Acting Chairman gave me earlier so I will try to keep it even shorter than two minutes. Work has been ongoing in the medium and high rise category. That was the second phase of the task force group's work and 842 buildings were identified in that category. Further detailed assessments of fire and life safety measures were deemed to be needed for 237 buildings. As of the end of January this year, 99 of those assessments had taken place. Only eight cases from those 99 required further actions. Of those, six were residential buildings and two were non-residential.

3 o’clock

A significant amount of work is being done by the task force. Coming back to Deputy Ellis's point, the task force has had ten meetings. Since I set it up, it is preparing a report based on the actual work it is doing in the interim period. It is doing the actual work and then preparing a report on that work, which will inform us what we need to do in the future.

That work has been interrupted by Storm Ophelia and Storm Emma because it is the same group of people doing the work. Any new learning that will come from this latest incident will be considered when we have that work done by both the Garda and the fire services. When we have the report from the task force, including the extensive work done in all local authority owned multi-storey complexes, this will be published. What happened last night in Ballymun was a serious and dangerous event. Our emergency firefighters and those who helped people evacuate the hotel acquitted themselves admirably, as well as showing bravery and courage. What happened last night will not undermine our ambition for more high-rise buildings in Dublin. It is a key feature of what we need to do to deliver for the housing needs of our people. We can do it with safe buildings and have the fire services in place to ensure public safety and the safety of those who live in these buildings.

For those who suffered in this event, there are all sorts of supports available to them, in particular, the emergency needs payment. People can contact their social welfare offices to see what supports are available. If the Deputies are aware of anybody having difficulties in this regard, he can bring them to my attention.