Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. As context for this Commencement matter, on Easter Sunday morning just past, 20 April, I was awakened in my house by what I thought was a car alarm. However, I quickly realised it was the sound of a number of smoke alarms going off. While there was no indication of any smoke in the house at the time, because the alarms were going off, I went around the bedrooms first, then downstairs to the living room and kitchen. It was only as I was making my way back upstairs I got the smell of smoke. I went back down into the kitchen, opened the utility room door and, as I did so, it burst open. I then realised we were in trouble. The utility room was totally ablaze with toxic fumes flying out. I had the presence of mind to close the door, roar upstairs to my family to get out and ring the fire brigade. I commend Cavan and Belturbet fire brigades. They were on the scene in 20 minutes and saved the house but, more importantly, saved us as a family, myself and my two young twin girls.

The reason I raise this today is that the building regulations that were introduced in 1997 covering fire safety and smoke alarms do not cover houses that were built prior to that. From 1997, a grade D smoke alarm was required in the hallway, landing and kitchen. From 2006, a grade D smoke alarm was required in the hallway, landing, kitchen and principal living room of a dwelling. From 2017, new minimum requirements were introduced which included those but also added to them attics, the audibility of alarms, the requirement to test them and various electrical specifications. In the case of houses built prior to the regulations being introduced in 1997, the owners should be contacted by the local authorities in relation to fire safety to encourage them to ensure adequate fire alarms are in their homes.

Between 2019 and 2024, there were 124 deaths caused by fire. Any fire chiefs or firefighters will say it is not the fire that kills but the smoke. In my experience, only for the smoke alarms we would be dead. Each year the fire safety authorities carry out a fire safety awareness week. In 2024, they concentrated in particular on fire safety in the home.As we are aware, due to the new hybrid way of working now many people work during the day in their own homes, at least for most of the week. Fires can start at any time. It is vitally important people are aware of the fire safety regulations, how to try to put the fire out with the proper equipment and, more importantly, how to escape from the house if fire breaks out.

I ask the Minister of State to please consider a public awareness campaign. I know a campaign is carried out for one week during the year but I think it should be continuously carried out throughout the year on our televisions, radios and social media outlets. It is vitally important that people are aware. Believe it or not, there are people who have no smoke alarms in their houses. I spoke to a man recently who told me he considered it a nuisance because every time he was cooking it went off so he threw it out. It is very important that this matter is addressed.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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Before I call the Minister of State, I welcome to the House Deputy James Geoghegan and his guest, Patrick Finlay.

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

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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The education aspect is vital. I am aware of some of the programmes conducted by the local fire services. An excellent programme is conducted in Cavan for third class pupils. I would like to see that extended to secondary schools as a refresher course, if possible.

The main message I want to get across, however, is that without smoke alarms, if there is a fire in your house, there is a 90% chance that you or your family will not wake up. The anomaly is that before the new regulations were introduced in 1997, houses were not required to have smoke alarms in permanent locations. We need an education programme, especially aimed at the owners of those houses, telling them to get fire alarms for every part of their homes. A fire alarm is not a nuisance. Someday, it could save a life.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for the passion he brings to the topic. The Department has a community smoke alarm scheme which funds approximately 12,000 smoke alarms annually. It was further extended to include more vulnerable and high risk households through the introduction of alarms for the hard of hearing in 2023-24. So far in 2024-25, the scheme has seen 15,000 standard alarms and 240 alarms for the heard of hearing supplied to fire services. There is a scheme. It could be expanded and rolled out on a greater scale. I do not know how practical it would be to address every household, but, certainly, the more households we can get these alarms into, the better. There are approximately 1.8 million households in Ireland, but the Senator is targeting those built before 1997. That makes complete sense. On the back of this, we definitely need a further focus on education and not just a weekly campaign in the year, but an all-year-round campaign on fire safety and the extension of the community alarm scheme to make sure more households get alarms. I again thank the Senator for raising the matter.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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Before we continue, I welcome guests of Senator Rabbitte, namely the students from St. Ita's Primary School, Loughrea, who are visiting Leinster House.

I ask the Acting Leader to propose that we suspend because a vote has been called in the Dáil. We will come back immediately after it is held. Is that agreed? Agreed.