Paul Murphy presses government for urgent ventilation regulations
Paul Murphy urged urgent action on ventilation and filtration, arguing they are central to a Covid strategy and criticising government inaction on the Ventilation Bill. He said the bill was supported by the Dáil, a promised meeting with the minister did not happen, and only a legal review and guidance have followed.
Ventilation Bill and government pledge
The People Before Profit Ventilation Bill received the support of the entire Dáil. The minister pledged to contact Paul Murphy that afternoon to arrange a meeting to discuss rapid implementation via regulation, but Murphy says he never received that call and no meeting was arranged.
Official response and legal review
Instead of a meeting, Murphy said his office received a long letter raising legal questions about the bill and stating the minister will write to the Health and Safety Authority to request a review of regulation. He noted that legislation has been passed but that the response to date has largely been extensive guidance rather than enforceable regulation.
Workers' right to clean air and settings of concern
Murphy stressed the absence of urgency on the crucial question of workers' right to clean air. He listed settings of concern including schools, colleges, pubs, restaurants, offices and factories and asked the Taoiseach to intervene to ensure regulations are in place before the end of the year.
Anecdote on school ventilation
Murphy described visiting a school to illustrate that a universal approach will not work, noting that in some older schools — such as those built in the 1970s where every classroom opened into a yard — ventilation was less of an issue due to building design, illustrating the need for tailored regulation and action.
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As you know, for a long time we have been stressing the importance of ventilation and filtration in a strategy to fight Covid, which is an airborne pandemic. We were therefore very glad that People Before Profit's Ventilation Bill received the support of the entire Dáil, and Minister English, who took it on behalf of the Government, pledged to contact me that afternoon to arrange a meeting to discuss how its aims could be rapidly implemented via regulation. During that debate the Government promised that this would not be a case of sending it to committee and setting it to one side, but that seems to be precisely what is taking place. I never got that call, we contacted the Minister's offices seeking a meeting, we never got the arrangement of a meeting, and instead we got a long letter raising various legal questions over our Bill and saying that the Minister is going to write to the Health and Safety Authority over the coming days to formally ask them to review the regulation. I mean the absence of urgency on this crucial question of workers' right to clean air in schools, in colleges, in pubs, in restaurants, in offices, in factories, this is a central issue. Taoiseach, will you intervene to ensure we have regulations before the end of the year on this issue? Galileo Captain Morris on discuss the ventilation and legislation has been passed, but it has been extensive guidance issued. I was in the school yesterday just to illustrate my point. You cannot have a universal approach. First, in the 1970s, during the school, and every door and every classroom opened into the yard, had no issue with ventilation as a result of the construction of the Arts School. You
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