Vol. 573 No. 3
708 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government the reason legislation has not been drafted to implement the recommendations of the Farrell Grant Sparks Review of Fire Safety and Fire Services in Ireland. [25491/03]
A range of legislative changes called for in the FGS review report were addressed in the Licensing of Indoor Events Act 2003. This Act introduced a new licensing system to be operated by fire authorities for certain indoor events as well as significantly amending the fire protection, fire safety and enforcement provisions of the Fire Services Act 1981. Provisions relating to the Fire Services Act have come into effect from 14 July 2003, while the remaining parts of the Licensing of Indoor Events Act 2003 will be commenced later this year.
The review report's recommendations in relation to inter-agency major emergency planning had been overtaken by the creation of the Office of Emergency Planning at the Department of Defence in late 2001 which supports a Government task force on emergency planning chaired by the Minister for Defence. In addition, my Department and the City and County Managers Association, CCMA, recently formed a sub-committee under existing Department-CCMA structures to act as an interface and forum on local authority emergency planning issues and provide a vital link between the local and national structures.
