Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 September 2022
75. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he has considered to remedy defective homes and regulate construction companies to ensure defects do not recur; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46888/22]
View answerIn response to the difficulties that homeowners are facing due to the presence of deleterious material in their houses, my Department has put a number of measures in place to support homeowners including providing considerable financial assistance to remediate their homes. These include the Pyrite Remediation Scheme and the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme.
In regard to defects in purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013, following receipt of the report of the working group I established to examine this issue, I will now, in consultation with Government colleagues, develop options with a view to providing support for homeowners who find themselves in a difficult financial situation through no fault of their own.
The Regulation of Providers of Building Works Act 2022 was signed into law by the President in July this year. The main objective of the Act is to develop and promote a culture of competence, good practice and compliance with the Building Regulations in the construction sector which will benefit consumers and the general public.
When the register is operating on a statutory footing it is envisaged there may be in the order of at least 5,000 entities who will be required to register. It is envisaged that builders can begin registering early 2023 and it will be statutory from 2024 for the first categories established. These will likely be house builders and non-residential builders. Registration for various trades will happen subsequently.
The legislation will require providers of building services to register with the Construction Industry Register of Ireland. This will apply to entities or individuals who hold themselves out for consideration as a provider of building works for both residential and non-residential buildings (subject to the building regulations). It does not include employees of such entities but does include sole traders. This will have a significant impact on all sections of the construction industry from small contractors and craftspeople up to the larger construction companies.
In addition, in response to defects that have come to light in buildings my Department has embarked on a range of building control reforms. Since 2011, the reforms have focused primarily on ensuring strong and effective regulation in the building control system and the construction industry, on improving compliance with the Building Regulations, and on greater consumer protection.
To further support the building control system, preparatory work is progressing on establishing an independent Building Standards Regulator to oversee building control nationwide and to act as custodian of the Building Control Management System.
