Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Wilson. The last gentleman he spoke about reminded me of my father. Anytime he fries a sausage, the alarm goes off. We jest, but the Senator is bringing up a very serious matter. I thank him also for his bravery in sharing his own personal story and circumstances. That must have been a harrowing experience for him and his family. We can still hear a bit of emotion there because it was scary and he probably thinks to himself what might have been if those safety measures had not been in place in his own home. I genuinely hope that, by bringing it up in the Seanad today, he starts an awareness campaign or some type of policy change to make sure that more people feel safe in their homes. I will explain the policy position at the moment and what is being done. I will give my word that we will keep up the momentum on this from today so that we can see further advancements, certainly on the education side.

To set out what the policy is, my Department supports fire authorities through setting general policy, providing the legislative framework, running an essential training programme and issuing guidance on operational and other related matters ,and providing capital funding for priority infrastructure projects. In June 2017, a devastating fire claimed the lives of 72 people at Grenfell Tower in north Kensington, London. A Netflix show has recently been launched. In terms of this particular issue, it is well worth familiarising ourselves with that.

In response to the Grenfell tragedy, the then Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government directed the national directorate for fire and emergency management, NDFEM, to convene and co-ordinate a high-level task force to lead a reappraisal of fire safety in Ireland. My Department published Fire Safety in Ireland, the report of the fire safety task force, in 2018. Among the recommendations contained in the report were maintenance of community fire safety with a focus on people vulnerable to fire, additional fire safety awareness-raising activities and fresh fire safety messaging campaigns. Since the recommendation, my Department has established a new website, , to provide information to citizens in the area of home fire safety including prevention, detection, evacuation and how to conduct a routine fire safety check. This website and general fire safety messaging is supported by a national campaign run annually by my Department on TV, radio and online. The latest media campaign benefited from a refresh campaign developed in 2024. The NDFEM has also developed fire safety leaflets, which were updated in 2023, and are delivered annually to fire services throughout the country to assist fire services' delivery of community fire safety messaging.

My Department annually runs national fire safety week which the Senator spoke about, which aims to enhance fire safety, particularly in the home. This is run jointly with the 27 fire authorities in Ireland and with Northern Ireland fire services, and begins with a live launch. The live launch in 2024 was held in Kildare and the 2025 launch is being held in Northern Ireland.

My Department also develops and funds a number of schools' education programmes for primary and post-primary education. In 2024, the primary school programme was updated, bringing Rua, the fire hound, to schools. Following these educational programmes, children often become drivers of fire safety in the home themselves.The Department also worked with the Health Research Board. The latest research is aimed at examining geographic characteristics and other factors associated with alcohol-related fatal fires in Ireland. A paper relating to this research was published in early 2025. The research helps to understand causes and will be used to develop messaging.

I will come back with a short supplementary answer, but I completely take the Senator's point. I thank him for raising it. He is doing everyone a favour by highlighting the matter. There is policy around education. It is strong, but we can always do more and it can always be stronger.