Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

302. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will arrange for a safety audit of all existing apartment and commercial blocks built over the years to the present, with a particular emphasis on those built during the Celtic tiger era from 1994 to 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30299/17]

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

303. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will arrange for fire safety checks on all lift shafts in apartment and commercial blocks to ensure that they are fully compliant with building fire safety standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30300/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 302 and 303 together.

My Department has overall responsibility for the statutory regulatory framework governing both Building Control and Fire Services.  Inspection and enforcement and the maintenance of relevant registers are a matter for  local authorities who, under the relevant legislation, are designated as Building Control and Fire Authorities in their respective functional areas and have extensive statutory powers of inspection and enforcement. Section 8(4) of the Building Control Act 1990 provides that a Building Control Authority may serve an Enforcement Notice requiring that such steps as are necessary to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations, including Part B - Fire Safety, be taken within a specified period. An Enforcement Notice may be served at any time up to five years from the completion of the Building Works. Under the Building Control Regulations, Building Control Authorities are required to maintain a register of any enforcement notices served by them, including brief particulars of the contents of the notice, which must be made available for public inspection.

Under the Fire Services Acts of 1981 and 2003 local authorities are designated as fire authorities in their respective functional areas and have extensive statutory powers of inspection and enforcement. Section 20 of the Act provides that the appropriate fire authority may serve a Fire Safety Notice on the owner or occupier of any building which appears to the authority to be a potentially dangerous building. Section 20 of the Act provides that a Fire Safety Notice in relation to a building may prohibit the use of the building, or a specified part of the building, unless or until specified precautions are taken to the satisfaction of the fire authority.

In response to the tragic fire in Grenfell Tower, the immediate focus of attention has been on life safety issues. In that context, I requested that each local authority, as a matter of urgency, review their multi-storey social housing units to ensure that all early warning systems, including alarm and detection systems and means of escape including corridors, stairways and emergency exits are in place and fully functional.

In order to raise awareness amongst private landlords, including landlords of households in receipt of social housing supports and rental assistance, the Residential Tenancies Board has been asked to remind all landlords of their statutory responsibilities and obligations as landlords to ensure that their properties fully comply with fire safety requirements. The RTB placed a notice to this effect on its website and will be writing  individually to all registered landlords providing detailed information in the coming days.

A Building Control Management System (BCMS) alert was issued to all registered users of the BCMS to remind those involved in works to existing or new buildings of the need to remain vigilant in relation to compliance with the Building Regulations and in particular to Part B Fire Safety. It was issued to 57,000 registered users including builders, assigned certifiers, designers and owners.

I also met with Dublin’s Chief Fire Officer to discuss fire safety and life safety issues in light of the London tragedy.  I also requested that the management board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) convene and assess the readiness of the fire authorities to respond to emergencies. In response to this request, the NDFEM Board has confirmed to me that the recent report of the Directorate’s External Validation group found that the public are well served by the developed arrangements in place for fire services in Ireland, and concluded that the available evidence provides for confidence regarding the capability of fire services to respond to emergencies. A further meeting with all of the national Chief Fire Officers will be convened shortly.

I have  tasked the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management with co-ordinating a high-level Task Force to lead Ireland’s re-appraisal of fire safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. The further issues to be considered, in addition to those outlined above, include: 

- The preliminary survey of the use of cladding products on residential buildings over 18m (6 storeys) being undertaken by fire services in Dublin is to be extended to the rest of the country and to cover buildings in all categories over 18m in height. The results to be reported to my Department by 19 July. 

- My Department is to meet with the local authority Chief Fire Officers in the coming weeks to review current activities and to plan for further fire safety initiatives in prioritised areas of action.

- Responsibility for fire safety in buildings of all kinds (other than dwellings) is placed by Section 18 (2) of the Fire Services Act 1981 on the ‘person having control’ of each building. In order to assist those in both the public and private sector who hold this responsibility, consideration is being given to the publication of a guide on undertaking Fire Safety Assessments as provided for in Section 18 (6)(a) of the Act. This will facilitate persons having control of buildings to demonstrate that they are complying with their statutory responsibilities.

- I will be updating my  Cabinet colleagues on the post Grenfell Tower fire situation and highlighting the implications of fire safety responsibilities in buildings across all sectors, both public and private.

- A renewed focus is to be placed on the preparations of local authorities, working with the Principal Response Agencies and others, for large scale evacuation and operation of rest centres under the aegis of the Framework for Major Emergency Management.

- I will consider all issues emerging, including regulatory arrangements, in line with developments.