I would like to echo the comments made by colleagues on the disgraceful homelessness figures from yesterday.

I want to raise a matter which also affects homeless families. Last week, the upper floors of the 16-storey Metro Hotel were destroyed by fire. While residents were made homeless, thankfully there was no loss of life and no one suffered any injuries. As always, the Dublin Fire Brigade, the Garda and other first responders did an outstanding job. Any serious fire like this, along with the legacy of unsafe and dangerous buildings constructed during the Celtic tiger era renews concerns about fire safety and about the operation of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations, BCAR, from March 2014. The latter essentially continued the system of self-certification of the disastrous Pádraig Flynn-inspired Building Control Regulations 1990, which permitted so much defective building in this country.

I first alerted the chief fire officer and city manager to the concerns of residents at Priory Hall and estates like Millfield Manor and Longboat Quay and up to 30 other high-profile defective multi-unit estates across the country have been highlighted in the media. From 2007, I continuously raised in this Chamber the issue of pyrite damage to homes and estates. However, the former taoisigh, Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen, and the former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley, refused to take responsibility for often distraught residents. As building activity ramps up again at long last, will more lax BCAR regulations leave a toxic legacy for the future, particularly in light of the changes to planning and apartment sizes made by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government?

In Dublin Bay North specifically, there are particular concerns about some buildings with timber frame construction. It is alleged that there are gaps at the top of compartment walls, a serious fire hazard; that plasterboards have not been fitted in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions; that service ducts and intermediate floors are not fire-protected and that brickwork and blockwork cladding is not secured to the timber frames. Can the Tánaiste confirm that the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, is fully aware of how many homes built during the boom are at risk of rapid fire spread? He asked the local authorities for information on this recently. The Minister, along with Deputy Coveney as the former Minister and their predecessors in the role have this information. Can both Cabinet members also outline what steps they have taken to ensure the safety of all the residents concerned?

From information supplied under freedom of information legislation to my constituency colleague who has done important work on this issue, Councillor Cian O’Callaghan of the Social Democrats, it appears that the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has been aware of timber frames, insulation and other fire risks for at least a decade. After the Grenfell tragedy, when I raised the issues of high-rise cladding and mandatory sprinkler systems, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, told me about the framework review but the important case study was never published. In February the Minister also told me about his high-level fire safety task force formed to lead a reappraisal of fire safety in Ireland. When will the task force’s final report be available? The Building Control (Construction Industry Register Ireland) Bill 2017 is before the House at the moment. However, given the track record of developers, surely the proposed construction industry register should not be placed with them but with a new, independent building regulator.

Finally, despite the Minister's assurances to colleagues in this Chamber last week after the Metro Hotel fire, our colleagues in the Services, Industrial, Technical and Professional Union, SIPTU, tell us that the Dublin Fire Brigade has no 42 m ladders and the only two high-rise appliances are both based at one location at Tara Street in central Dublin.

There are a lot of questions there. As for the tenancies that were affected by the fire last week, my understanding is that the individuals and families involved have been accommodated, although some of that is temporary accommodation in a hotel. They are being provided with financial support, and of course the local authority is looking at trying to put long-term tenancies in place for the individuals concerned.

It is important to say that an inspection of all local authority multi-storey buildings is taking place. We are preparing a report on the back of that to ensure that there is a full audit of local authority-owned buildings in Ireland following the Grenfell disaster in the UK. We are expecting to get that report back next month. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government will confirm that, I am sure.

Regarding some of Deputy Broughan's more general concerns, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is very aware of its responsibilities. As the construction sector is rebuilding and delivering significant increased numbers now year on year, particularly houses and apartment complexes, we must ensure that corners are not cut but that we are building safe homes for individuals and families into the future. The Building Control Act 2007 sets out the primary purpose for which building regulations may be made, namely, health, safety and the welfare of people in and around those buildings. The primary responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the building regulations rests with designers, builders and the owners of the buildings but of course we must make sure that local authorities have inspection teams and inspection capacity to ensure those building regulations are met. In the past, that has not been the case, quite frankly, as evidenced by the percentage of inspections that have taken place. However, we have set ambitious targets in that regard and we have put the resources in place to make it happen.

I welcome the assurances the Minister has given about the residents being rehoused. He mentioned inspection but the reality is that it was the Governments of which he was a member for the past seven and a half years that slashed the numbers of local authority fire safety inspectors. As Deputies Coveney and Murphy know, it has been estimated that we need to at least quadruple the number of fire safety officers in this country over the next several years. We may need as many as to 300 personnel. What really infuriates people, as the Tánaiste knows, is that some of the developers who built these shoddy and dangerous buildings during the Celtic tiger boom, under the regulations brought in by the Fianna Fáil Government, are back in business and building again, having been helped by the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, and ourselves. Surely in discussions of the Building Control (Construction Industry Register Ireland) Bill 2017, which has had pre-legislative assessment, that is an issue that should be directly addressed. As a former Minister with responsibility for this area, Deputy Coveney will be familiar with Volume 1 of part B of the Building Regulations, that is, the fire safety regulations that relate to public buildings such as schools, nursing homes, offices and so on. When will the revision of those regulations be available to the House?

That revision is due shortly, I am told. In regard to inspections and inspection capacity, there is a new €10 million inspection fund that will be available to local authorities to make sure they have the staffing complement needed to undertake an appropriate level of inspections. In the past, the percentages of properties inspected have been in the low single digits. We want to get to a situation where about 25% of properties are inspected each year, which would be a dramatic increase. Obviously this involves more staff, more resources and more focus from local authorities. We are providing the funding to deliver on that.