Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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456. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the arrangements in place to review and monitor fire safety in schools on a continuous basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38934/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Fire Safety in all buildings, including schools, is covered by the States Building Regulations. Schools are dealt with in exactly the same way as any other buildings under the State’s Building Regulations.

The amendments to the Building Regulations BC(A)R 2014 which came into force in March 2014 introduced a system of certification requiring those professionals involved in the design and construction of buildings to certify compliance with the Building Regulations before a building can be occupied. This includes certifying compliance with Part B of the Building Regulations 1997 which deals with Fire Safety.

My Department will commission fire safety audits of a representative sample of up to 25 schools built over the past 20 years. This audit is a proactive, extra precaution prompted by recent concerns over the fire safety of public buildings both in this country and the UK. Regarding the list of schools to be examined, this sample has not yet been chosen but will comprise a representative sample of school types and locations and methods of construction over the past 20 years, including WBS and other contractors. The schools to be audited are not restricted to schools built under the Departments “Design & Build” programme but will be representative of all methods of construction. It should be noted that the selection of a school to be audited under this initiative in no way means that the Department has concern about that particular school.

My Department is also conducting a review of all major school building projects currently under construction in order to ensure that design teams and contractors are fully engaging in a complete and comprehensive way with the inspection and certification requirements of BC(A)R 2014, particularly with regard to certifying compliance with Part B (Fire Safety) of the Building Regulations 1997.

This will cover all major school building projects currently under construction including where the Department is not the building owner.

With regard to continuous monitoring of fire safety issues, individual school management authorities are best placed to monitor fire safety issues in their respective schools on a day to day basis.

A Detailed guidance document is in place to advise schools on Managing Safety and Health in Schools. This includes comprehensive advice on the issue of managing the risk of fire safety. The document is a publication of the Health and Safety Authority in collaboration with the Department of Education and Skills, the State Claims Agency and the School Development Planning Initiative.

These Guidelines were developed in response to a demand from the education sector for guidance and clarification in relation to the legal obligations and responsibilities that have been placed on schools. This demand, combined with the recognition that workplace safety, health and welfare needs to be managed and can be integrated into existing planning processes at school level, was at the core of the collaboration between the partners involved.

The Guidelines may be accessed at the following link:

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If any school authority has concerns about fire safety with regard to its school buildings it may wish to commission a fire safety audit report to determine if such concerns are significant.

My Department will consider any request from a school authority to address such issues on receipt of an appropriately informed and supported application for funding.

My Department is always conscious of the need to ensure the maximum efficiency and security with regard to Health and Safety in our schools. In light of the concerns expressed both in Ireland and abroad in relation to fire safety in public buildings my Department will continue to examine ways in which improvements in process and procedures can be brought about.