Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 July 2016
215. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department or a body under its aegis undertook a regulatory impact assessment of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014, SI 9, system changes before being introduced; if so, the results of this assessment; and if not, the reason this is the case. [23221/16]
View answerAn extensive public consultation process was undertaken in 2012 to inform the development of the revised building control regulations which came into effect on 1 March 2014. A comprehensive consultation document was published entitled Strengthening the Building Control System - A Document to inform public consultation on Draft Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2012, which set out the context in which the reforms, as later signed into law in the form of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014, would operate and the regulatory impact of these for building owners and industry stakeholders.
In broad terms, the 2012 consultation document identified that the proposed reforms to the building control regime may give rise to additional design, inspection, certification and insurance costs, which would ultimately be borne by building owners/contracting authorities. The impact assessment estimated that the requirement to engage an assigner certifier to inspect and certify the construction works could add up to €3,000 per housing unit to the overall build costs.
However, the document signalled that such additional costs would be justified by the enhanced quality and standard of design and construction of the building project concerned having particular regard to the many notable instances of non-compliant buildings which had failed to meet minimum requirements under Building Regulations. The overarching objective of the proposed statutory inspection process was to reduce the incidences of defective works on site and any resultant costs associated with carrying out remedial works following completion.
Over 500 submissions were received by my Department during the public consultation process on the draft regulations undertaken in the first half of 2012. All submissions received were comprehensively considered and meetings were held with a board range of professional bodies and industry stakeholders in advance of finalising the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014, (S.I. No. 9 of 2014), and their introduction on 1 March 2014.
S.I. No. 9 of 2014 was reviewed following its first 12 months in operation to consider, among other things, the impact of the regulations on single dwellings and extensions to existing dwellings. Arising from the review, the owners of one-off houses were given the facility to opt out of statutory certification from 1 September 2015 under the Building Control (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2015.
However, it was clear from the review that the recent reforms have brought a new order and discipline to bear on construction projects. I am confident that as the transition to the new arrangements for the control of building activity continues to progress, these reforms will prove capable of transforming the culture of the construction industry in Ireland to one of improved compliance and quality.
