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InvestigatesFire SafetyLOCAL FIRE AUTHORITIES have issued 150 fire safety notices in the last five years over concerns with “potentially dangerous” buildings, a new investigation can reveal.
Records obtained under Freedom of Information by The Journal Investigates show there has been a growing number of notices in recent years.
Several accommodation providers for refugees and asylum seekers are among the premises that received fire safety notices, including one that was opened without a fire safety certificate.
The notices also include apartments, pubs, restaurants, hotels, nursing homes and crèches.
One Cork pub had a fire safety notice served on it last year. It later emerged that a previous notice on the building, served in 1985, had not been complied with.
The issues have since been addressed to the satisfaction of the fire authority.
A fire safety notice can be issued to a premises under the Fire Services Act 1981 if it appears to the fire inspector to be a “potentially dangerous building”.
It can prohibit the use of a building, or part of a building, from being used for a specific purpose, like residential accommodation or commercial uses.
It may also require the owner to carry out remedial work to ensure that the building complies with fire safety regulations. The notice can be withdrawn if the fire authority is satisfied that the building no longer poses a potential danger.
The number of these notices being issued has risen steadily over the past five years, with 36 notices issued in 2025 – the most of any year during the half decade and almost double the number issued in 2020.
An analysis by our team also revealed that more than 200 distinct premises are included in these notices, with some containing as many as 15 apartments.
Responding to the notices served on IPAS accommodation, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said that it “takes the welfare and safety of residents very seriously” and that compliance with fire safety regulations is of “paramount importance”.
“The Department works with accommodation providers and the relevant local authorities to ensure this,” they continued.
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A number of the buildings served with a fire safety notice were being used as emergency accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees, our investigation found.
In 2024, the Eyre Powell hotel in Newbridge, Co Kildare, which provides accommodation to asylum seekers, was found to have several significant fire safety issues, according to records obtained by The Journal Investigates.
Inspectors found the fire alarm system was obsolete, widespread wedging open of fire doors throughout the building, cooking appliances found in bedrooms, and an electric scooter charging inside the building.
A fire drill had not taken place in over a year, and the previous drill noted instances where residents would not leave their rooms and evacuate even when management knocked on bedroom doors.
Another fire drill was conducted in the presence of fire officers who “observed that some residents did not evacuate from their bedrooms.”
This, the report states, placed pressure on staff to carry out an “evacuation sweep” of the building to ensure everyone had left.
A “significant number of additional bedrooms” had also been added to the building without the required fire safety certificate.
The notice was withdrawn in late July 2024 following completion of remedial work, but a year after the original notice, another was issued over concerns relating to the building’s ventilation system.
The Department of Integration moved to relocate residents due to the concerns, but later allowed families with school children to stay following a public outcry over the short notice that was given.
The owners of the hotel lodged an appeal against the second fire safety notice in court, but three days before the hearing, Kildare County Council withdrew the notice.
A spokesperson for the council told The Journal Investigates that the notice was withdrawn “as the fire authority was satisfied that the matters referred to in the fire safety notices had been complied with.”
A Department of Justice spokesperson said that the accommodation remains partially unoccupied as “remedial works continued at the centre until recently”.
They added that they are working with the provider to bring it back to full capacity.
Our team contacted the hotel owners, but we did not receive a reply.
Another emergency accommodation provider opened its doors despite an application for a fire safety certificate being rejected.
The Tuam Parish Centre in Galway submitted a proposal to house asylum seekers via a fire safety certificate to Galway Fire and Rescue last year.
But when this was rejected, the building was subsequently occupied on the advice of a fire risk assessment from a consultancy firm.
An inspection in late 2025 found that some fire doors were either missing or considered “not appropriate” by the inspectors.
This part of the building was subsequently unoccupied following a fire safety notice and remains empty as the notice is still in force.
The other part of the building received a fire safety certificate following a new application and continues to provide emergency accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said that the contractor had provided the Department with “an opinion of fire compliance from a registered professional” and that this was “in line with the procurement criteria at the time.”
The Tuam Parish Centre offered “no comment” when asked about this by our team.
Chief executive officer of migrant rights advocacy organisation Doras, John Lannon, told The Journal Investigates, “it is essential that all premises housing people meet fire safety standards and that proper procedures, including obtaining fire safety certificates, are strictly followed.” He added:
Everyone has the right to live in safe and secure accommodation, regardless of their immigration status.
Lannon said that while he recognises the “pressures on the state accommodation system, basic fire safety cannot be compromised”.
The Harmony Inn in Killarney, Co Kerry, also received a fire safety notice in 2023 after accepting a contract for a direct provision centre.
The inspection report cites “many issues” with the premises, including fire doors not closing and a lack of certification.
The owners appealed the notice in court, but following engagement with Kerry County Council, work was carried out to address the issues identified.
A spokesperson for Kerry County Council said: “Kerry Fire Service is satisfied that the issues specified in the fire safety notice were satisfactorily addressed.”
The Harmony Inn owners did not respond to a request for comment regarding the fire safety notice received.
Accommodation housing Ukrainians at another location, and another premises used as an IPAS accommodation centre, also received fire safety notices.
The latter received a closure notice after inspectors found it was in breach of building regulations for not having a fire safety certificate and posing a “serious and immediate risk” to residents.
Nick Henderson, chief executive officer of the Irish Refugee Council, told The Journal Investigates, “regardless of the setting, all accommodation must comply with Ireland’s national fire safety frameworks.” He added:
People should not be exposed to such risks in a place where they have come to seek safety.
Henderson also said that even if people are able to evacuate safely from a fire, they may lose “critical documentation needed to support their protection applications” as well as personal belongings.
The Mutton Lane Inn, one of Cork city’s most popular pubs, was issued with a fire safety notice last year.
But records obtained by The Journal Investigates show that the pub had previously been served with a fire safety notice in 1985.
This notice “appears not to have been complied with”, Cork city’s chief fire officer wrote in a letter to the pub’s owner in March 2025, adding that “many of the issues identified in it are still applicable”.
The current owner, according to the letter, was not aware that the historical notice had been issued when they purchased the premises and only became aware of its existence around the time of a fire safety inspection last year.
The 40-year-old fire safety notice was replaced with a new notice that identified a number of significant issues. This was done as “the guidance used to mitigate risks has changed in the years since,” the letter states.
Namely, some areas of the first floor, second floor and attic were not covered by the fire alarm system. The floors were also made of “unprotected timber”, and parts of the building contained “what appears to be combustible wallpaper”.
The inspection also found that the fire safety management appeared to be “inadequate”, with no record of “periodic checks or emergency evacuation drills”.
“Candles in bottles had repeatedly been used in public areas despite a warning from the fire authority,” the report also found.
Records show that work was carried out on the pub to address the concerns raised by the fire authority.
Visitors to the pub have also observed that the candles in bottles have been replaced with battery-powered versions.
A spokesperson for Cork City Council said that even though the issues had been addressed, the fire safety notice remains in effect.
While fire safety notices can be withdrawn, the spokesperson continued, “this almost never happens in practice” in Cork city, adding, “all but one of the fire safety notices served in Cork city since 1981 remain in force.”
They said that the work to address the issues raised has been completed, citing the cooperation of the owner. They added that if the owner applies to have the notice withdrawn, it will be.
The pub owner did not respond to a request for comment.
While 150 fire safety notices have been issued since 2020, an analysis by The Journal Investigates revealed multiple parts of a building were often part of a single fire safety notice.
For example, apartment blocks were typically dealt with in one notice, even when there were multiple apartments considered to be “potentially dangerous” buildings.
In Mayo, 15 apartments in a block were served with a fire safety notice in August 2024, and another 12 in March last year.
The same happened in Leixlip, Kildare, in 2021 when 12 apartments received a fire safety notice. And in Dublin, near Pearse Station, a row of 11 seemingly abandoned buildings received a fire safety notice in 2021.
These four notices contain 50 distinct premises and demonstrate how quickly the number of potentially impacted buildings can multiply.
In total, our team identified 217 premises from these fire safety notices.
Some notices were served on multiple apartments without specifying the number, meaning our total figure is likely even higher.
And while every fire authority responded with the number of notices issued, six authorities – Carlow, Laois, Monaghan, Louth, Offaly and Tipperary – didn’t provide any further details that could be analysed.
Dublin Fire Brigade, which covers all four Dublin local authorities, issued the most fire safety notices of any fire authority in the last five years, with 37.
These include a property in Fingal that is subject to a prohibition notice for not meeting the minimum standards for rental accommodation, and another property in Clontarf described as a “temporary container in residential use”.
Three other fire authorities have issued more than 10 notices in the five years: Louth (18), Monaghan (14) and Kilkenny (15).
And just four fire authorities – Cork County, Limerick, Longford and Wicklow – did not issue any notices in that time.
Reporter: Conor O’Carroll • Editor: Noel Baker • Social Media: Cliodhna Travers • Main Image Design: Lorcan O’Reilly
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