Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 9 Nov 1999

Vol. 510 No. 3

Written Answers. - Services for the Elderly.

Deirdre Clune

Question:

301 Ms Clune asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the scheme, if any, available to provide all senior citizens with a smoke alarm; if not, the consideration, if any, he will give to such a scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22458/99]

Minister for the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Dempsey)

Fire safety in the home is the responsibility of individual householders and there is no scheme operated by my Department to finance or install smoke alarms. The building regulations set out requirements in relation to fire safety in the design and construction of new buildings and the extension of, or material alteration to, existing buildings. Though the 1991 edition recommended the fitting of battery operated smoke alarms, which are cheap and easy to install, survey evidence indicates that householders often forget to check or replace batteries. The revised Technical Guidance Document B (Fire Safety) which I published in December 1997, recommends that houses built and-or extended on or after 1 July, 1998, should be fitted with mains operated smoke alarms, rather than battery operated alarms.

The National Safety Council actively encourages fire safety in the home as part of its ongoing fire safety education and publicity campaigns. Particular stress has been placed in its campaigns on the value of smoke alarms which, if properly installed and maintained, can provide early warning of fire and save lives. The council has also carried out a campaign in recent years to install smoke alarms in houses occupied by the elderly and other vulnerable persons. In addition, local authorities have been asked by my Department to consider the provision of smoke alarms in their rented dwellings. The provision of smoke detectors is best achieved in this way with the voluntary co-operation of householders in the interest of themselves and their families and I have no proposals to introduce a scheme for the financing or installation of such alarms.