Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 October 2018
677. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if he will publish his Department's annual reviews of the building control amendment regulations; and the outcomes or recommended reforms that have been proposed or implemented as a result of these reviews. [42484/18]
View answerThe Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014, known within the industry as BCAR, require owners, builders, and registered construction professionals to demonstrate through the Statutory Register of Building Control Activity that the works or buildings concerned have been designed and constructed in compliance with Building Regulations.
The roles and responsibilities of owners, designers, builders, assigned certifiers, etc. during building works are set out in the Code of Practice for Inspecting and Certifying Buildings and Works (September 2016). This has brought clarity and accountability, a focus on compliance and a new order to bear on construction projects.
31 Local Authorities are designated as Building Control Authorities and they monitor compliance with Building Regulations in their area, and have strong powers of inspection and enforcement under the Acts.
Prior to the Regulations coming into effect on 1 March 2014, the then Minister signalled the intention to review their effectiveness following the first twelve months of operation. This review was announced in April 2015 and an Open Policy Seminar on Building Control was hosted later that month. Written submissions were invited by May 2015. The scope and objectives of the review were:
(a) To review the operation of the Regulations in consultation with industry and local authority stakeholders and members of the public;
(b) To consider in particular the impact of the Regulations on single dwellings and extensions to existing dwellings having regard to specific concerns which have been raised in relation to the cost burden of the regulations and the level of certification required for this sector;
(c) To consider more generally the impact of the Regulations on owners, occupiers and users of buildings having regard to the statutory purposes for which building regulations may be made (i.e. public safety, accessibility, energy efficiency, efficient use of resources and good building practice);
(d) To make recommendations that will strengthen and improve the arrangements in place for the control of building activity in keeping with the principles of good and fair administration; and
(e) To report with recommendations to the Minister as soon as possible, but in any event no later than 30 June 2015.
The final Report on the Building Control Regulations Review 2015 is available on my Department's website at the following link: https://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/building-standards/other/20150805-bcar-review-report-final.
A key outcome of this review was the introduction of amending regulations which contain a provision for a single dwelling or single unit development to opt out of statutory certification.
On 13 June 2017, the report of the Expert Panel on Concrete Blocks was published and included eight recommendations, which my Department is advancing. The Panel expressed the view that the introduction of the opt out for new single dwellings, on a single development, as provided for in the Building Control (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2015, was a retrograde step that may contribute to further building failures such as those experienced in counties Donegal and Mayo. The Panel recommended that the opt-out facility under the 2015 Regulations should be reviewed with a view to removing that provision. My Department will be undertaking this review shortly.
