Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2015
1050. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has considered placing home bond schemes as a mandatory requirement for all residential building projects. [37587/15]
View answer1065. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to make home bond schemes a mandatory requirement for all residential building projects. [37800/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1050 and 1065 together.
A number of companies currently provide structural warranties or latent defects insurance cover in respect of new residential buildings. Such insurance providers are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. My Department has no function in relation to this aspect of the matter. For consumers such products have the advantage of providing direct recourse from the insurer when problems arise rather than having to rely on the insurances of the builder/developer or other parties.
The Construction 2020 strategy includes a commitment to consider the potential for latent defects insurance (LDI) as a form of recourse for consumers when faced with serious construction defects. My Department has given the matter some consideration in consultation with the Department of Finance and a number of industry bodies.
It is important to note that key reforms to the arrangements in place for the control of building activity introduced in recent years are leading to market conditions more conducive to insurers and a wider availability and use of latent defects insurance, including -
(i) S.I. No. 9 of 2014, which came into effect on 1 March 2014, requiring greater accountability for demonstrating compliance with the Building Regulations in the form of statutory certification of design and construction, lodgement of compliance documentation, mandatory inspections during construction and validation and registration of certificates.
(ii) The online Building Control Management System (BCMS) was developed to coincide with the introduction of S.I. No. 9 of 2014 in order to provide a common platform for clear and consistent administration of building control matters across the local authority sector. The system facilitates a risk analysis of all projects for which commencement notices are received, which will inform each building control authority’s own inspection arrangements thus ensuring that available inspection resources are used to optimum effect.
(iii) A voluntary register of builders and contractors known as Construction Industry Register Ireland or CIRI is now in place and will be placed on a statutory footing in the near future.
All of the above measures ensure a greater emphasis on competence, professionalism and quality in our construction industry into the future and impose a new order and discipline on the execution of construction projects, thereby reducing risk within the construction sector.
In this context, my Department welcomes the current focus by industry on promoting and supporting more widespread use of LDI. There are no plans at this time to introduce a mandatory LDI requirement for all new residential projects but my Department will keep the matter under review in the light of ongoing developments within the construction industry in general and in relation to construction insurance products in particular.
