Written answers

Wednesday, 28 April 2021

Department of Education and Skills

Fire Safety

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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558. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the frequency with which school fire hydrants are tested; the steps taken to repair them if found to be non-operational; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21497/21]

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, it is the responsibility of school management authorities to have a safety statement in place in their schools. Schools are obliged to identify possible hazards, assess the risks to health and safety and put appropriate safeguards in place. Individual school authorities are responsible, in the first instance, for ensuring the safety and welfare of children and others in their care.

My Department issued Circular Letter 0018/2018 in March 2018 on the management of safety & health, including fire safety, in primary and post-primary schools. The circular also included links to detailed guidelines produced by the Health & Safety Authority that were developed in collaboration with the Education sector. The aim of these guidelines is to provide practical assistance to school authorities including advice and recommendations on how to implement and operate Health & Safety, including Fire Safety, management systems in schools.

Provision is built into the School Building Programme to enable schools to address urgent health and safety problems. Primary schools are given an annual allocation under the grant scheme for minor works which can be used entirely at the discretion of school management to address basic health and safety issues relating to the school infrastructure.

In addition, my Department’s Summer Works Scheme provides capital grants for small scale improvement works at primary and post-primary schools during the summer holidays.

My Department also sets-aside a contingency sum each year to deal with emergency works in primary and post-primary schools, including health and safety works. Urgently required health and safety works may be grant-aided under the Department’s Emergency Works Scheme.

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