As the Tánaiste will be aware, last night there was a major fire in the tower attached to the former Days Hotel, Ballymun. The response from the emergency services, the fire brigade and the gardaí was swift and undoubtedly prevented a major loss of life and serious injury. The response from the staff at the hotel and in the tower in evacuating the building was, equally, truly heroic. For many years, our fire services have requested additional equipment to tackle high-rise buildings, such as extension ladders, power hoses and other vital equipment, as well as training and recruitment. What is the status of the reappraisal of fire safety in the wake of the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in London, as announced by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, in June 2017?

Thank you, Deputy.

The Minister tasked the national directorate for fire and emergency management with co-ordinating a high-level task force to carry out the reappraisal.

Colleagues of Deputy Ellis are waiting to ask their questions.

In light of the devastating fire in Ballymun, this is now a matter of urgency.

I thank our emergency response service personnel and commend them on their heroic efforts in getting people out of the building safely last night. In tackling the blaze, they put their own lives at risk. They do this on a regular basis but sometimes it takes an event such as last night's to remind us all of the incredible work they do.

There is a topical issue this afternoon on this issue, when I will speak in detail on the outcome of the task force and the work it is doing.