Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 January 2019
501. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Question No. 259 of 11 December 2018, if she will address matters (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54311/18]
View answerThe regulation of carbon monoxide alarms is a policy matter for my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy TD. The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), an agency under my remit, carries out national standardisation activity in support of policy makers and regulators in their functions.
As I advised in my reply to you of 11 December last, the NSAI Gas Technical Standards Committee agreed in November 2018 that NSAI would undertake a scoping exercise to assess the feasibility of producing a standard for the installation of carbon monoxide monitors in commercial buildings. This work will commence by the end of Q1 2019.
NSAI will consult with relevant Government Departments and agencies to determine the levels of interest, policy support and availability of guidance for the development of such a standard. It will also engage with a wide range of other stakeholders, including fuel suppliers/distributors, trades groups, device manufacturers, interested societal stakeholders and other public bodies, whose expertise and technical knowledge would be essential for the elaboration of a national standard, with a view to establishing a working group as appropriate.
While it is not usual to solicit submissions by the public during the development stage of a standard, once the work is underway members of the public may submit views directly to the working group or through any of the members of the group, particularly the relevant public bodies.
Following its elaboration, the draft document will be made available through the NSAI website for public comment during which time any interested party, including members of the public, may submit their observations. All comments received will be reviewed by the committee members who will decide the final text by consensus.
