Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, to the House to discuss an important concern which he shares with me. Many public representatives are concerned we are living in a city full of what are in effect tinder boxes and that fire regulations need to be strengthened or reflected upon. The fire safety of buildings constructed in the past 20 years is raising much concern for residents and their representatives.

There is a particular difficulty in that when questions are raised about the fire safety of houses or an apartment block in an individual estate, there is a reluctance among residents to use the normal engagement process with their public representatives, with councils or with the media because they are terrified the value of their properties will collapse. They are stuck in a bind of wanting to do something about the fire safety concerns around the places in which they live. They are also worried that the obvious resolution mechanisms they would normally go through are closed off from them because they do not want hurt the value of their properties. This is completely understandable.

We are coming to the conclusion that we need a dedicated agency where people can make confidential reports about fire safety concerns. In turn, these can be dealt with on a confidential basis to bypass this issue about the value of properties being undermined. In many of these cases, the issues can be rectified without any reputational damage to the properties in question as well as the significant investment people have made in them. The last thing we need is where people make a determination about the value of their property versus the value of their lives and those of their families, taking a risk their home will never go on fire. We cannot have them deciding that, because the mortgage on the property is so huge and debilitating to their quality of life, they take a risk on the property’s fire safety.

This is an issue that has been going during the lifetime of for several Governments. The former Minister with responsibility for the environment commissioned a report after five houses in the Millfield Manor estate in Newbridge, County Kildare, were completely destroyed by fire in less than half an hour.I understand that this report has been completed and that the current Minister is in possession of it. I am anxious to know what the report contains.

This matter relates to the overall general standard of fire safety throughout the country. Fire safety is the responsibility of the local authorities, but the level of resources varies from council to council. The responses of councils also vary. It is the responsibility of the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to oversee this issue and ensure that there is a mechanism in place whereby people can raise their concerns and by means of which we can conduct an effective audit of all construction carried out in the past 20 years, when regulations were not as tightly controlled in respect of dwellings where people's lives are at risk. We all know of individual apartment blocks in our localities and constituencies that are fire hazards. The risks exist but the residents are terrified of raising concerns about them lest the value of their properties collapses.

I appreciate the Leas-Chathaoirleach's patience in allowing me to put my point of view. This is a serious issue and I know the Minister of State will appreciate that. I look forward to his response.