Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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969. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the specific actions taken and progress made since he indicated that his Department is reviewing its role in relation to the aspects of legislation regarding the regulation of fairground equipment and funfairs and specific legislative provisions relating to fairground equipment. [23552/19]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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970. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has had discussions with the Health and Safety Authority regarding progress on the review in relation to the aspects of legislation relating to the regulation of fairground equipment and funfairs and specific legislative provisions relating to fairground equipment. [23553/19]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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971. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the safety certificates his Department has received in respect of funfairs in each of the years 2014 to 2018 and to date in 2019, by county in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23554/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 969 to 971, inclusive, together.

Section 239 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 places a statutory duty on organisers of funfairs and owners of fairground equipment to take such care as is reasonable for ensuring that persons at a funfair do not suffer injury or damage by reason of dangers arising from the funfair or associated activities.  This legislation also requires that the owner of fairground equipment shall not make it available to the public unless such equipment has a valid "certificate of safety". The organiser of a funfair is required to give notice of the event to the relevant local authority and such notice is to be accompanied by a valid "certificate of safety".

My Department initiated a review of the provisions of Section 239 in relation to funfairs, while also considering the issue of public safety at funfairs and theme parks in the context of more general approaches to public safety at events, with a view to learning from other bodies with expertise in these areas, as appropriate. The review of the aspects of legislation relating to regulation of fairground equipment and funfairs in section 239 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, particularly in respect of the specific legislative provisions relating to fairground equipment, is ongoing and includes an examination of international practice in the area of regulating public safety. My Department has met with key stakeholders as part of this process, including the Health and Safety Authority.

The drafting of the review report has commenced and further engagement with relevant stakeholders is envisaged as part of the process of clarifying issues and preparing the

report's conclusions and recommendations.  

Certificates of Safety are issued by persons authorised in Regulations made under the Planning and Development Act 2000 and are returned annually to my Department in accordance with article 8 (3)(b) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Certification of Fairground Equipment) Regulations 2003.  Certificates for 2019 will be available in 2020. The 2014 - 2018 Certificates received by my Department for funfairs are listed, by county of inspection, in the Table below: