Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the way the safety of residents will be protected in Temple Court, Santry, Dublin, in view of the fact that serious fire safety concerns were made to Fingal County Council in early October, which were passed on to Fire Prevention Services, however, no investigation has taken place due to insufficient staff resources. [57357/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Primary responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations rests with the designers, builders and owners of buildings. Implementation and enforcement of the building control system is a matter for the relevant building control authority.

Under section 18 of the Fire Services Act 1981 and 2003 it is the duty of every person having control over premises, such as apartment complexes, to take all reasonable measures to guard against the outbreak of fire and to ensure the safety of persons on the premises in the event of an outbreak of fire. Fire authorities have a range of powers available to them, from providing advice to taking High Court proceedings, to deal with situations where fire safety is in question.

I understand that Fingal County Council has received a number of complaints regarding the Temple Court development and has been in touch with the relevant parties to obtain further information on the issues involved. The specific concerns raised are in relation to possible fire safety hazards which may arise due to the manifestation of pyritic heave in the development , while there are more general concerns about construction issues.

I also understand that the residents ’ concerns have been raised directly with Dublin Fire Brigade and also passed to them by Fingal County Council, and that Dublin Fire Brigade responds to all specific complaints it receives in relation to fire safety. In this case safety advice has been provided in relation to possible impact by pyrite on the gas supply lines to the apartments.

The pyrite issues in Temple Court will be addressed as part of the overall implementation plan for recommendations made in the independent Report of the Pyrite Panel.