Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to House. I congratulate Senator Quinn on introducing this Bill. As the Senator and a number of other speakers have said, carbon monoxide poisoning is a major issue. Carbon monoxide kills an average of six people per year in this State. I understand that of the 40 deaths related to fumes, six were related to carbon monoxide poisoning. Statistics in the United Kingdom indicate there were 50 deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning.

No one can argue against the bona fides of the Bill. I am very happy we are supporting it on Second Stage and that the Minister will be making a number of amendments to it. Loss of life when it can be prevented is a travesty. I agree with other speakers that any measures that can be taken to protect life should be taken.

I have a number of caveats that I would like to raise concerning the Bill. I was very pleased that the Minister, in his statement, confirmed my opinion that this matter can and should be covered by building regulations, particularly in regard to building standards associated with new builds and renovations. This was the case in Scotland in 2013.

Another issue I have with the Bill, as set out, relates to the rental sector. Some 20% of all Irish families live in private rented accommodation. Senator Quinn referred to a home that is subject to a new lease or the renewal of an existing lease. A very significant number of tenancies in the State are not governed by lease at all but by the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. This should be taken into account in the drafting of the Bill.

Minimum standards for the private rental sector are covered by minimum standards regulations from 2008 and 2009.

Adding the supply of carbon monoxide alarms to those regulations is the way to proceed because they stipulate minimum requirements such as the provision of smoke alarms. For example, two smoke alarms must be provided in a rented property, and a multi-occupancy house, such as a traditional Victorian property divided into a number of units, must have a fixed alarm system that is linked to the electrical system. I ask the Minister to consider including the minimum standards for the private rented sector properties in this legislation and Senator Quinn could include a provision to amend leases to take into account the new regulatory environment.

Senator Cullinane mentioned that there is a legal obligation under existing legislation to provide smoke alarms in domestic homes but that not the case. It is the case with a new construction but it is not the case with existing constructions. I suggest to both Senator Quinn and the Minister that we must incorporate legislation that covers fire safety because a very significant number of people live in properties that are not covered by fire safety regulations. Perhaps the Minister will consider, if it is possible, amending the certification process to include carbon monoxide and smoke alarms.

I am concerned about some of the proposals in the legislation. The Senator proposed to have a certificate made available when a boiler appliance, stove or whatever is serviced. However, there is no legal obligation on a home owner to service a boiler but, ironically, such exists under the minimum standards for rented properties legislation. As things stand there is no legal obligation in the case of a domestic property where the person is a home owner to provide same. We need to consider imposing a requirement on people where no legal obligation exists. There is no legal obligation to sweep one's chimney or service a gas or oil fuelled boiler and so forth. We must consider including such a provision in the context of grounding legislation.

I am interested in introducing a certification system for rented properties, like the national car test, where the person renting the property must show it is fit for purpose. I have studied such certification very closely for a number of years. I do not think the Senator's legislative proposal is workable. For starters, the numbers of people he listed who are capable of providing a certificate effectively means it costs €130 to certify that a €30 appliance is in place. That provision needs to be reconsidered.

I wish to discuss the proposal to ask local authorities to police the scheme. I can assure the Senator that the enforcement by local authorities of the private rented minimum standards legislation has been incredibly varied and in some local authority areas it has been downright appalling. In terms of enforcement, the Senator needs to look beyond local authorities. I think the home owner, landlord or whoever should be obliged to provide certification and the inspection system needs to be carefully thought out.

With regard to public awareness, people know that carbon monoxide poses a danger. Surveys have shown that three quarters of people know there is a significant danger posed by carbon monoxide. However, a very significant number of people say they cannot afford to service their appliance. We need to be very conscious when seeking to impose legal obligations on people that there are supports. I suggest we provide supports for people who have very low incomes, particularly when it comes to servicing appliances that are and can be life threatening. This may be a matter for the Minister for Social Protection. There are people who cannot afford to service their boilers or have their chimney swept which is a core factor we need to consider.

With regard to the Bill before us and all those caveats, it is important for us to deal with the issue of carbon monoxide, in the first instance, and fire safety because one cannot be separated from the other.

We need to find a way in which we can attach a fire safety obligation not only on new builds but in situations where existing dwellings are old and are probably more in need of fire safety precautions than some of our more modern constructions. Will the Minister support an amendment extending the minimum standards regulations for rented properties, which, as I said, is 20% of the entire housing market, to include carbon monoxide detectors? As I suggested to Senator Quinn, maybe we could look again at the definition of leases and rented property under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.