Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and Ms Honor Heffernan to the Visitors Gallery. I hope we will be singing off the same sheet by the time this debate concludes. It is an honour to second Senator Quinn's proposal. He has a proud record of introducing legislation of this kind. We have already debated his proposals on the use of defibrillators and he also supported the ban on smoking in cars where children are present. In another debate on safety with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, we deduced from the numbers involved that 40% of people were escaping having penalty points attached to their licences by not bringing their driving licences to court. We are all in favour of public safety and this Bill represents a step forward, so I hope the Minister will consider it.

The Bill proposes having a carbon monoxide alarm in every room that contains an open fire, stove or boiler. In addition, a carbon monoxide alarm would have to be fitted in each bedroom within five metres of the door, as well as having an alarm in bedrooms with flues.

The provisions of the Bill would kick in under five conditions: when a home is newly built; when it is placed on the market for sale; when it is rented afresh; when a replacement open fire, stove or boiler is installed; or when an existing open fire, stove or boiler in a home is repaired or serviced.

Senator Quinn did not put a costing on such measures but, for example, fitting alco-locks in buses would not even cost 1% of the price of a bus, yet it provides a safety dimension. Members of the Oireachtas have these issues at heart, which are good for citizens. Parliament is serving the citizenry by making their lives safer and protecting them from the kind of accidents we have seen happening. Carbon monoxide is an odourless and invisible gas, so anything we can do as legislators to intervene and support this Bill will help citizens. Considering the numbers, it would represent quite a low cost per life saved.

That is something we would commend to the House and something we are all agreed upon to make Ireland a safer place. It is an honour to second Senator Quinn and to commend him yet again on bringing legislation to the House. He is a model Senator in his industry in this regard.