Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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430. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of building inspector staff employed by each local authority; and the estimated cost of employing an additional building inspector. [19258/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department collects quarterly data on staff numbers in local authorities. However, the data gathered do not provide detail on the number of building inspectors employed in each local authority.

Building Inspector is not a grade within the local authority structure. It is a matter for each Chief Executive to assign an individual staff member to carry out the function of inspecting buildings. Information in relation to average cost of a building inspector is therefore not available in my Department .

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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431. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of fire safety officers employed by each local authority; and the estimated cost of employing an additional fire safety officer. [19259/17]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Service Act, 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects.

Each local authority determines the number of fire officers they employ having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources. My Department does not collate information in respect of the numbers of fire safety officers that local authorities employ as this is a matter for individual authorities themselves.