SCHOOLS FIRE SAFETY ‘RISKS LIVES OF KIDS’

Government accused of delay in addressing issue

FEARS have been raised for the welfare of pupils in three primary schools after a Government audit found them to be in serious breach of fire safety standards.

The report revealed that Powerstown ETNS, Belmayne ETNS, and St Francis of Assisi NS in north Dublin were among five schools to have breached fire regulations.

The audit follows a number of fire safety issues in both Rush and Lusk Educate Together schools after Dublin Fire Brigade raised concerns over their standards of safety in 2014.

Social Democrats councillor Cian O’callaghan criticised the “snail’s pace” at which the Government was addressing the issue, saying it was risking the lives of children and teachers.

He said: “These issues could have and should have been resolved during the summer of 2014 before the new school year started.

“It is alarming that it took the department a year and half to commission the essential fire safety audits, which took place in November 2015 and January 2016.”

He added: “There is absolutely no excuse for this delay – for three years teachers and students in these schools were put at unnecessary risk.

“The Department of Education’s casual attitude to the safety of children in our primary schools is inexcusable.”

The latest audit revealed the level of fire retardation in five schools, which should have provided 60 minutes of protection to allow them to be evacuated safely, to be considerably insufficient.

The schools were built in 2008 under a Rapid Build Programme by Western Building Systems, the same company responsible for building the school buildings in Rush and Lusk.

The audit also found breaches in Gaelscoil na ncloth Liath in Greystones, Co Wicklow, as well as in Mullingar ETNS in Co Westmeath. Following the audit, the department announced it is to carry out more than two dozen further fire audits at schools around the country constructed in the last 20 years.

In a statement, the department said: “The findings of these reports indicated issues of insufficient compliance with some requirements of the fire safety certificates in relation to fire retardation in those buildings.”

These issues could have and should have been resolved

CIAN O’CALLAGHAN, LEFT, YESTERDAY