I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Act 1981. My Department supports fire authorities through setting general policy, issuing guidance on operational and other matters, providing a central training programme and providing a capital fundi…

I reiterate the steps my Department has already taken to incrementally increase the retirement age for retained firefighters from 55 to 60. I can also reconfirm that the Minister intends to engage with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to ensure that the mandatory retirement age for retained firefighters is consistent with that of other uniformed services, particularly noting that Government recently agreed an increase to age 62 in that regard and for legislation to…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as ucht an cheist seo a ardú. The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003. The Department supports fire authorities by setting general policy, providing the legislative framework, running a central training programme, issuing guidanc…

Under section 22(4) of the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003, a fire authority may require owners or occupiers of buildings to provide building information to support the preparation of PIPs, such as plans of buildings, hydrant locations, number of persons day and night, both ambulant and non-ambulant, evacuation plans, a list of hazardous materials stored or processed and contact details. Fire station training programmes include sessions on site familiarisation and pre-incident planning, including the application o…

I will respond first to some points raised by Members. Deputy Andrews inquired about the Glass Bottle site. The figures are 25% social and affordable, 10% Part V and 15% additional affordable and social. I will have to come back to him on the oversight committee. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan raised points about the rough sleeper count. Again, I will have to revert on those. Deputy Paul Murphy made some points in which he criticised the Labour Party. The Labour Party, like the Green Party, is always willing to step into …

I thank Senators Warfield, Boylan and Gavan for tabling the motion. I will respond to a few points raised by Senators during the debate. Senator Warfield asked a question about the housing referendum. We expect the Housing Commission report will be furnished to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, by the end of March and brought to Government soon after. Points were put by other Senators about numbers for inward migration and emigration. We certainly do not treat housing as a commodity, as was suggested. We treat …

I thank Senator Malcolm Byrne for raising this issue. I have to declare an interest in that my children lobbied me this week to try to have their school included. Unfortunately, it is not, but they would certainly like to have their school included as one of the polling centres. I know the issue of how our elections and referendums are run is prominent as we prepare for the holding of two referendums this Friday, 8 March, that on the Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023, and that on the…

I agree with the Senator. Certainly, in terms of accessibility, the view from the meetings I have had with our franchise section and with access groups is that significant improvements have been made regarding public accessibility and ensuring premises are fully accessible for people with visual impairments and physical disabilities. That is critical. As I said, the objective is to maximise the participation of everybody who is eligible to vote in our electoral system. We have the referendums this weekend and the l…

Boosting supply is key to addressing the problem at the heart of the housing system. Housing for All has set an average annual delivery target of 33,000 homes per year over the period up to 2030. In this context, it was noted early last year that some permitted developments were not being commenced. This appeared to be due to increased housing construction costs. Construction inflation, including both labour and materials costs, arose from global supply issues as well as other related viability issues. On 25 April …

The development contribution waiver scheme has made a positive contribution to the highest level of annual residential commencements in 2023 since records began in 2014. This means that the uplift in new home delivery experienced in 2023, when almost 32,600 new homes were completed in Ireland, will be sustained in 2024 and into the coming years. Almost 33,000 new homes were commenced in 2023, which is an increase of 22% over the 27,000 new housing starts in 2022. That is very impressive and is an upward trajectory …

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. It certainly brings to light a whole range of challenges from extractive industries in the supply chains of materials. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications. While we are transitioning away from carbon-intensive fuel sources at pace, coal is still a critical fuel source for electricity generation today. This dependence is expected to diminish significantly by next year when the ESB's Moneypoint power sta…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir. I have outlined the position on the matter and reiterate the ESB is a commercial State company and Ministers do not have a statutory function in any of the day-to-day operations of the business. The dependency on white coal to run Moneypoint power station is expected to diminish significantly by next year, when it transitions away from burning coal to generating only off heavy fuel oil. The Departments of Foreign Affairs and the Environment, Climate and Communications are aware o…

It is my understanding the ESB is currently engaged in a formal complaint resolution process with Christian Aid and other NGOs and the ESB has signalled its willingness to engage in this in a full and meaningful way. The ESB is engaging and I have outlined the Department of the environment's role in relation to that too.

I thank Senator Garvey for raising this issue. I certainly recall those programme for Government discussions. I brought the town centre first policy. I tried to replicate it from the Scottish experience. It was a critical component of the programme for Government, as is tackling vacancy. The programme for Government commits to examining ways to ensure that unused or underused building stock in urban centres can be made available for much-needed housing. As Minister of State with responsibility for heritage, I see t…

The one-stop shop idea is a good one. Separately this year, through the Heritage Council, we are funding the roll-out of architectural conservation officers in counties that do not have them. That is hugely important because these staff play a vital role in animating many of these properties back into use. The living city initiative, which focused on issues with accessibility, was a significant learning experience. Many premises with a shop at ground-floor level do not have a separate door into the upstairs or resi…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media operates two capital funding programmes for sport, namely, the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF, and the sports capital and equipment programme, SCEP. Both of these capital programmes are demand-driven and, as the Deputy can imagine, there is significant demand for them. The national sports policy published in 2018 provided for the establishment of the LSSIF. The aim of the fund is t…

In the national sports policy, we outlined an aim to double Exchequer funding for sport by 2027. In this regard, it is my firm belief that money spent on sport should be viewed as an investment that will reap a variety of dividends over a long period for all communities. In the first half of the ten-year lifespan of the national sports policy, there has been clear progress in sports funding, and we are well on track to achieve our target. In budget 2024, the Government announced an overall budget allocation of €183…

There are currently no plans to extend the season any further. As we know, bird-nesting season is upon us. It is important that everybody, both contractors and landowners, adheres to that. We have developed a programme around awareness, including across our social media channels. Separately, on roadside safety and overhanging branches, there is already an exemption under the Wildlife Act. That is already in place for landowners, contractors and local authorities to ensure that roadside safety is paramount.

I thank Senator Boylan for raising the issue and providing me with the opportunity to update the Seanad on the steps my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, is taking with regard to this important matter. The building regulations set out minimum standards for the design and construction of buildings and works to ensure the health and safety of people in and around such buildings. In general, the building regulations apply to the construction of new buildings and to extensions and material alterations to…

Certainly, we are not waiting for the EU. It is worth reiterating that the building regulations are performance-based and technology and material neutral. These regulations are subject to ongoing review in the interests of the safety and well-being of persons in the built environment and to ensure due regard is taken of changes in construction techniques, technological progress and innovation. With regard to the current review of Part B of the building regulations dealing with fire safety, it is expected the revise…