asked the Minister for the Environment the functions, budget, membership and commencement date of the task force on fire matters to which he referred on 18 February 1981.
8.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Task Force on Fire Matters.
7.
asked the Minister for the Environment the number of times and the dates on which he has met the chairman of the Fire Prevention Council with a view to establishing the task force on fire matters to which he referred on 18 February 1981.
I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 7 and 8 together.
The Minister met the Chairman of the Fire Prevention Council on four occasions to discuss matters concerning the task force, the establishment of which he announced in this House on 18 February 1981, cols. 1990 and 1991, volume 326 of the Official Report. The meetings took place on the morning and the afternoon of 16 February, on 25 February and on 26 March 1981.
The role of the task force is to undertake a number of special projects aimed at increasing public awareness of fire hazards, with particular reference to places of public entertainment and resort, including the following:—
—Special seminars or conferences at various centres for proprietors and managers of discos, dancehalls, night clubs, hotels and other places of public entertainment. The first of these, dealing with fire prevention in hotels, was held on 22 April 1981 in Dublin. A seminar for proprietors and managers of discos, dancehalls and function rooms was held in Dublin on 14 May 1981 and further similar seminars will be held in provincial centres.
—A television, radio, press and cinema campaign with the object of educating the public in relation to the exercise of diligence and awareness when attending places of public entertainment and resort. This campaign will commence shortly.
—The preparation of leaflets and posters for proprietors and managers of discos, dancehalls, night clubs, function rooms and hotels giving guidance on fire safety procedures. A leaflet on fire dangers in hotels has already been produced.
The matter was considered by the Fire Prevention Council at my request and these proposals were put forward as being special projects additional to their normal programme. The task force comprises, in addition to the Chairman of the Fire Prevention Council, Mr. G. Cronin, who heads the force, the fire adviser of my Department, Mr. J. Connolly, and supporting administrative staff. The services of further technical staff will be provided for the task force as required.
It is estimated that a sum of £125,000 will be required to finance the activities of the task force this year. As I have already indicated the cost of the task force will be met by my Department.
Can the Minister say what it is intended that the task force should do that the Fire Prevention Council have not being doing?
The task force was appointed principally to speed up the activity formerly carried out by the Fire Prevention Council.
Will there be an action group to speed them up?
They are an action group and we have already seen results of their action.
Can the Minister explain what new function the task force are taking on and will perform more expeditiously than the Fire Prevention Council which was set up only two years ago to do exactly the same things as the Minister outlined today?
Because of the Stardust disaster and other recent tragedies, it is a matter of speeding up and it is additional to the activities of the Fire Prevention Council. It is to take immediate action in regard especially to making the public aware of the dangers of fire and also to organise those seminars with managers and proprietors of discos, dancehalls and so on and do it more speedily and try to bring about quick action. This is in addition to the activities of the Fire Prevention Council, with extra staff.
Is the Minister saying that the Fire Prevention Council were not performing these tasks expeditiously enough?
No, I am not saying that but it was realised that the activities needed to be stepped up and improved, that increased activity was needed in this area. The task force is charged with bringing about this increased activity and the main activity is making the public aware of the danger, making managers and proprietors aware of it.
All blow and no go.
It can be done much faster with additional staff by this special task force.
Why were the council not given additional staff?
Am I to take it from the Minister's reply that this body is a duplication of the one already existing under another name? Apart from that, as the Minister has said, there will be more people doing the job. Is it the intention of the task force to confine its activities to places of entertainment or is the matter of other fire dangers such as in the case of hospitals, schools and so on going to be dealt with by the task force?
The task force was brought in as an addition to, not a duplication of, the work of the Fire Prevention Council. It was set up to go into all aspects of fire dangers and the immediate problems at places where people gather and the immediate hazards that were presenting themselves as very serious hazards were discos, dancehalls, hotels and various things like that. Their job is to give special attention to identifying the dangers attached to such places and to making the public aware of those dangers and also to make managers and proprietors aware of what might be done and have a fresh look at the problem. It is not a duplication; it is an addition in order to bring about a speedy result. They are not excluding hospitals or such places. These are included. I have just mentioned the immediate ones.
Is the Minister responsible for matters relating to fire safety measures within the Department of the Environment?
I have certain responsibility but the Minister has overall responsibility.