Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 16 September 2016
572. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his responsibilities with regard to ensuring that fire safety certificates are issued and up to date; if a fire safety certificate has been issued for a building (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24781/16]
View answerNeither I nor my Department has any role in relation to the issuing of Fire Safety Certificates. The issue of such certificates is a matter for the relevant building control authority, which in this case is Fingal County Council. The legal position in relation to Fire Safety Certificates is set out in the Building Control Act 1990, as amended by Part 2 of the Building Control Act 2007, and in regulations made thereunder. A Fire Safety Certificate is generally required before construction work is commenced in the case of a new apartment block, a new building other than a dwelling or an existing building other than a dwelling undergoing an extension, a material alteration or a material change of use. The Fire Safety Certificate is issued by the relevant building control authority and certifies that the building, if constructed in accordance with the plans and documentation submitted, will comply with the requirements of Part B (Fire Safety) of the Building Regulations.
Section 5 of the Building Control Act 1990, as amended, also provides for a prohibition on the opening, occupation or use of a building which has not been granted, among other things, a Fire Safety Certificate, where such a certificate is required. In this regard, article 43 of the Building Control(Amendment) Regulations 2009 declares that the opening, operation or occupation of a new or existing building prior to the grant of a Fire Safety Certificate, where required, or prior to the determination by An Bord Pleanála of an appeal on the matter, is an offence to which section 17(2) of the Act applies, meaning that the offence, if successfully prosecuted in court, may result, on summary conviction, in a fine not exceeding €800 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or, on conviction on indictment, in a fine not exceeding €10,000 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.
