Vol. 572 No. 6
380 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if he is committed to strengthening the enforcement mechanisms available to building control officers of local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24246/03]
The Building Control Act 1990 assigns primary responsibility for complying with the building regulations to the designers, builders and owners of the buildings involved. Under the 1990 Act, the role of local building control authorities is to monitor buildings for compliance with the building regulations and to institute enforcement action, where appropriate. The authorities have powers to issue fire safety certificates for the designs of non-domestic buildings and apartment blocks, inspect building works in progress and on completion, serve enforcement notices, seek High Court injunctions to stop construction works posing an imminent danger, and to institute summary prosecutions for certain offences.
I propose to introduce a building control Bill in the first half of 2004. The Bill will provide for, inter alia, the strengthening of the enforcement powers of building control authorities.
