Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach stated that the correct procedure was followed, the Tánaiste recommended Ms Máire Whelan to the Cabinet as the stand-out person for the vacancy and the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board did not have a recommendation for the post, so the Government came to the decision to appoint someone. I do not know whether Senator Ardagh has heard me, but I want her to understand what happened. The correct procedure was followed. In addition, the Taoiseach did not instruct or ask the President to expedite the appointment. As the Senator knows well from her legal background, the President can and does appoint members of the Judiciary within days of their nominations.

The Tánaiste, as the Cathaoirleach ruled, is no longer the line Minister and, therefore, is not the appropriate Minister to attend the House. I am happy to ask the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, to attend. I submitted a request to him in advance of today's Order of Business in the belief that there might be an amendment to it. I hope that he will be here on Thursday, if the House is agreeable. It is important that we allow for due process. If we have a discussion on the appointment of Ms Whelan in itself, then we will stray into matters that are not necessarily connected with the import of the decision.

The Business Committee has left to decide the Dáil's business and I am unsure as to whether it has returned yet. The appointment will stand no matter what happens. It is up to us to ensure that the judicial appointments Bill is fast-tracked and passed by the House. I am told that the Minister for Justice and Equality is available to come to the House on Thursday. That would be important.

Senators Conway-Walsh, O'Reilly, Colm Burke, Butler and Bacik raised the issue of Finsbury Park, Grenfell Tower and Portugal, where there were tragic deaths of innocent people. I join Senator Conway-Walsh in paying tribute to those who died and hoping that there will not be such a socio-economic divide in our country. It cannot be allowed to happen. The Senator was right to highlight the matter on the Order of Business. Given what Senator O'Reilly said about the type of cladding used, there is a need for building and fire safety regulations to be monitored, inspected and, if necessary, changed.I agree that it is a matter of absolute importance. Where I disagree with the Senator is that I do not know if the local authorities have the competency or personnel to do this. It may need a different approach, which I think we all agree should be taken. We cannot allow a tragic consequence to happen in this country like happened in London last week. The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has met with the Dublin fire chief and will meet with all other fire chiefs in the coming weeks. He has also asked the National Directorate of Fire Emergency Management to meet and to assess this country's readiness for fire emergencies. In addition to this, each local authority has been asked to review and come back with their plans for their multi-storey social housing units. This also requires local authorities to ensure that early warning systems and alarm detection procedures and systems are in place. Through the Private Residential Tenancies Board private landlords and the management companies of private apartment complexes are also able to ensure that there is an answer to the question the Senator raises.

Fire safety precautions and readiness are extremely important. Whether we follow what happened in England or not, the Senators are absolutely correct that awareness be raised and also that the fine line between being ready and prepared on the one hand and ensuring such a catastrophe never happens on the other, be put in place. I hope that all of those involved in the management of our property units will respond to the Minister because it is imperative that we do not allow what happened in England to happen here. I will ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to come to the House to discuss this matter as a matter of urgency. It is critical. Irrespective of where we are from or who we represent, what happened last week is a tragedy. We must stand with the people and ensure that the monument left there today is one that we never see in this country. All of us as public representatives at local and national level must work with those charged with responsibility at both private and public level to ensure that there are no fire traps or death traps in either our social or our private housing units. We are lucky perhaps that we do not have the same height of building but we do have apartment blocks and management companies in this country. We must ensure that no short cuts have been taken and that there is a rigorous inspection of these premises and units.

Senators Higgins, Bacik, Ó Ríordáin, Byrne and Devine pointed out that today is World Refugee Day. I accept that more needs to be done and that we must continue to be a place of welcome and refuge. We cannot be seen to be a cold house or a cold place for people seeking refuge here. This is where we as a nation must ensure that the good work being done today continues. It is also important that we pay tribute on this World Refugee Day to our Defence Forces, who have rescued and saved so many refugees in the Mediterranean. President Higgins today asked us to pause and pay tribute to 65 million refugees and to ensure that we leave no-one behind. That is our task, irrespective of our ideology, governments or political parties. As citizens and as people we must ensure that no-one is left behind. We have a moral duty to do that. I welcome Senator Byrne's comment about the University of Limerick as a sanctuary university, where 17 people will have the opportunity to be educated on scholarships.

I have not read the remarks attributed to Councillor Keary-----