asked the Minister for the Environment if he will stipulate that properly trained inspectors be appointed to check all the electrical work in new local authority houses to ensure that contractors will not be allowed to certify their own work.
Written Answers. - House Electrical Work.
428.
There is no information in my Department to suggest that the existing procedures for the inspection of electrical work in new local authority houses are not adequate and I do not consider that a separate inspectorate as suggested by the Deputy is warranted.
429.
asked the Minister for the Environment if he is satisfied that the work on all houses wired for Dublin County Council is carried out by qualified persons; if he has any evidence of similar type fires occuring in more than one scheme; and, if so, if he has arranged to have a safety check carried out on such schemes.
I understand that the carrying out of electrical wiring in houses provided by Dublin County Council is undertaken by contractors in accordance with the specifications for electrical installations in local authority houses. This specification applies on a national basis and was approved in December 1976 by my Department following consultation with the Electro-Technical Council and the Electricity Supply Board. The specification requires that all electrical work must comply with the latest edition of National Rules for Electrical Installations published by the Electro-Technical Council of Ireland.
When electrical work in Dublin County Council houses is completed the general contractor or electrical sub-contractor certifies that the electrical installation in each house complies with and has been installed in accordance with the national rules published by the Electro-Technical Council of Ireland and has been found to be satisfactory.
A small number of fires have occurred in Dublin County Council houses in recent years and the causes, where established, have differed in each case. In no case was it established that the cause of a fire was due to faulty electrical wiring. However, the county council considered that it was desirable and necessary to have electrical work inspected and have appointed two electrical inspectors, sanctioned by my Department, to ensure that all electrical work is carried out satisfactorily.
430.
asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware that immersion heater switches are fitted inside the hot-presses in most new houses; and if he is satisfied that this practice is safe.
While I am not aware of the extent to which the practice is followed, I understand that the installation of immersion heater switches inside hot presses is a practice which was recently investigated by the Electro-Technical Council of Ireland and that they are satisfied that it is safe.
431.
asked the Minister for the Environment the cost and extent of remedial work carried out in Mourne View Estate, Skerries, County Dublin, following a fatal fire in November 1978; if he is satisfied that the wiring certificates issued for the houses were in order; and, if not, the steps he has taken to remedy the position.
The provision and maintenance of their rented housing estates, including electrical wiring, is primarily a matter for each individual local authority. Up-to-date specifications for electrical installations for incorporation in contract documents for local authority housing schemes are issued periodically to local authorities by my Department following consultation with the Electro-Technical Council of Ireland and the Electricity Supply Board. I have had inquiries made of Dublin County Council, however, and I understand that the cost of repair works carried out to the four houses damaged by the fire in Mourne View Estate, Skerries, in November 1978 was £34,500.
There was no evidence to indicate that the cause of the fire was faulty electrical wiring. Nevertheless, the City and County Manager requested the National Building Agency to have an urgent independent examination made of the electrical installations in all houses in the estate. This was carried out by a specialist firm of consultants who reported that, apart from minor defects in some houses, in particular the fitting, presumably by tenants, of fuses of a higher rating than recommended, the electrical installations complied with the Institute of Electrical Engineers Regulations for Electrical Equipment of Buildings as amended by the National Rules for Electrical Installations and Requirements for Earthing in Electrical Installations of the Electro-Technical Council of Ireland and the Electricity Supply Board.
The consultants' report stated that generally the defects were such that the increase of fire risk from them was very slight. All defects, however slight, were rectified at the time under the supervision of the consultants.