Vol. 453 No. 8
10 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for the Environment the plans, if any, he has to make £2.7 million available to Cork Corporation to provide basic fire safety facilities in NBA houses in Cork before there is a serious loss of life. [10001/95]
The management, maintenance and improvement of its rented dwellings is the responsibility of the local authority. Where an authority has identified problems calling for emergency attention, such as a fire hazard, remedial action should be taken without delay by the authority and funded from either its existing allocation under the remedial works scheme for designated estates or from its own resources.
Over £30 million, including £3.8 million this year, has been allocated so far to Cork Corporation under the remedial works scheme for the refurbishment and improvement of its dwellings. The funds provided for this scheme in the 1995 public capital programme have been allocated in full and while it is not possible to increase the allocation to Cork Corporation it should be possible for it to find the resources to enable it carry out the emergency measures.
I am disappointed with the reply. I put down the question because recently there were a series of fires in the complex and there are no emergency exits. The fire officer has virtually condemned the complex. Will the Minister allocate £2.7 million out of the budget for social housing before lives are lost?
I am very concerned about the fires which occurred in the flats. I visited the area and saw the evidence. I am conscious of the need to undertake the work and I am glad the corporation has proposals for emergency measures. These flats were built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is within the remit of Cork Corporation either through its own resources or under the remedial works scheme to allocate funding to undertake the emergency measures needed. I will not put obstacles in its way. As the Deputy is aware, allocations for the housing programme and the remedial works scheme were made some time ago. I expect Cork Corporation is in a position to ensure the emergency measures can be provided as a matter of urgency.
I am a member of Cork Corporation. We have received a final warning. This is a matter of life and death. Families with children live upstairs in these flats. Irrespective of who was responsible in the past we must address this problem immediately. It is not feasible to suggest that the corporation is in a position to provide £2.7 million out of its own resources. The financial plight of Cork Corporation is well known within the Department. We have a shortfall of £2 million. Application was made under the remedial works scheme for rebricking, providing sanitary and bathroom facilities in old housing and so on. The only way open to the corporation to raise funding is by way of loan. If Cork Corporation can raise £500,000 or £1 million, will the Minister match it with an emergency payment so that this problem can be dealt with immediately?
I fully accept the Deputy's concern about this matter. All of us agree that this is a very serious problem. The resources already allocated to Cork Corporation are considerable — £3.8 million under the remedial works scheme and £7 million under the housing programme. The immediate emergency measures outlined by Cork Corporation amount to £140,000, and I expect that funding of this could be accommodated. I will be as flexible as possible in regard to any arrangements which can be made by the corporation to fund works which will ensure fire safety. Cork Corporation has already shown a certain flair and imagination in its refurbishment programmes and it has used various sources for carrying out these works. It is capable of ensuring that this work is carried out. Having seen the problem at first hand, this work must be tackled and I believe the resources and capability are there to ensure that at least the emergency measures are carried out. If this requires a rearrangement under the remedial works scheme and the corporation wishes to pursue this, I will be as open as possible.
When the Minister visited the flats, which are a death trap, she gave great hope to the residents. The remarks made by her today are a cop out; she is not following through on the hope she gave to those residents. There is no point in telling us about the flair of the corporation in managing to get its house in order when it requires an allocation of £140,000 from her Department for the emergency measures. This is not a large amount, given the threat to the lives of these young couples and their families. These people expect the Minister to allocate this funding and she should have the flair to find it within her Department.
The Deputy should be very clear about what he is saying and ensure that any comments about this matter are totally accurate. On the emergency measures, there has been an increase in the housing allocation for Cork Corporation this year. This is due to the major commitment by the Government to ensure that a proper housing programme is in place. Cork Corporation has the capability of ensuring those emergency measures are carried out. If there are any difficulties in regard to the transfer of money I will ensure that no unnecessary obstacles are put in the way. I have visited the flat complex and I take very seriously what happened and could happen in Cork. There is an onus on all of us to be totally accurate and clear about needs to be done and what can be done in order to protect the residents of these flats.
There have been three or four major fires in these flats in recent times and it is thanks to the fire brigade that nobody lost their life. The £150,000 our housing manager has said we may be able to raise through various means will only fund the installation of an intercom system and the painting of doors with a fire resistent material.
There are no fire escapes in these flats and these are required as a minimum measure. We had an emergency housing meeting last Monday and we will have another meeting next Tuesday. We need to be totally clear on what we can do in terms of existing resources or funding raised by way of a loan. If we are able to secure a loan, will the Minister match it with funding? The programme will cost £2.7 million and it may be possible to set a two year time limit for its implementation though loan arrangements etc. The housing manager should know the position so that he can put forward clear proposals at the meeting.
The authority should take remedial action without delay. The emergency measures include an intercom system, the replacement of the wooden ESB fuse boxes with steel boxes and the strengthening and replacement of doors. Cork Corporation has come forward with a proposal and I welcome that. It is important to have an emergency strategy in place to protect these people. Full refurbishment works would take some time and in the meantime residents would not feel safe in their homes. Cork Corporation has outlined the emergency measures which need to be taken and I do not think it will have any difficulty in carrying these out quickly, and if there is any difficulty I will look at the obstacles. The corporation has adequate resources to meet these emergency requirements. A remedial works programme is being carried out and obviously all the requirements, including fire safety, will be met. In the meantime the emergency measures must go ahead.
The immediate emergency measures will not be much good if there is a major fire in this flat complex. I am not being alarmist when I say that. An intercom system will not be of much use to these people if their flats are on fire. The Minister referred to the housing allocation for Cork Corporation and I would point out that the funding for the remedial works scheme was reduced by £710,000 this year. Will she restore that £710,000 to the corporation so that it can begin the very necessary works and not merely tinker around at the edges through the installation of an intercom system etc?
Cork Corporation has carried out imaginative remedial works with the finance under the housing programme. Last year the tax amnesty distorted the allocations for remedial works.
The Government cannot blame the tax amnesty for everything.
This year the Government has managed to——
Increase spending by 10 per cent.
——increase the number of local authority houses from the figure of 2,900 set by the interim Fianna Fáil Government to 3,900.
What about the flats and the people——
Let us hear the Minister's response.
On the flats, the funding is there——
——who will die if these works——
The Deputies are being alarmist.
We are not.
If Deputy Lynch had bothered to come into the House she would have supported us.
Is it regrettable that Deputies are using this issue in this way.
We are highlighting it. I make no apologiy for raising and highlighting in this House an issue that is a matter of life and death. The Minister was pretty good at it herself.
She was an expert.
Please let us hear the reply. I want to proceed to Question No. 12.
The Deputy asked a question. If he listened to the answer he might have more credibility.
I am highlighting——
The Deputy asked me a question and I would thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, if I was given an opportunity to respond. I have been watching this case very closely since I visited Cork. I want to see it resolved as a matter of urgency. I have stated that I will ensure there are no obstacles in the way in regard to reallocation of money from sources which already exist for emergency measures. I stated that a full refurbishment programme which is in train and will continue into the future is the solution. In the meantime, we cannot afford to wait for that programme to be carried out. Emergency measures need to be put in place. The corporation has indicated what those measures must be and they can and must go ahead quickly.
The time is almost exhausted. Perhaps we could deal briefly with Question No. 12.
