Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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112. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to undertake a comprehensive fire safety audit of all high risk buildings within the State’s property portfolio including historic properties. [40606/17]

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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In July 2017, a fire safety task force was set up by my colleague Eoghan Murphy TD, Minister for Housing, Planning & Local Government. The task force is chaired by the Head of the National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management. The Office of Public Works (OPW) has recently accepted an invitation to provide a representative to that task force.

OPW is cooperating with any requests received from Local Authorities in relation to fire safety assessments required to be carried out on buildings that it maintains arising from the Circular issued to Local Authorities by the National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management in July 2017.

In addition, and as a first priority, OPW is reviewing fire safety in any building under its remit that is residential or partially residential. The number of such buildings is relatively few. If any issues are identified for remediation, they will be addressed as a matter of urgency.

OPW is also compiling an inventory of all its buildings that are fitted with external cladding, rain screens or similar, regardless of height. In due course, and as resources permit, these buildings will also have a fire safety review carried out either by desk assessment or by site-specific inspections as considered appropriate. Again, if fire safety issues are identified, these will be addressed. The reviews will be completed as soon as possible.

OPW has maintenance contracts in place in appropriate buildings, to ensure that active fire safety systems, such as emergency lighting, fire detection and alarm systems are regularly serviced to the requirements of the relevant Irish standards. A Circular is issuing from OPW to all occupants/building managers of properties it maintains to remind them of their responsibilities in relation to fire safety management.