Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 June 2012
565 Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the current level of on-site inspection of buildings by local authorities; if he will provide a tabular breakdown of the inspection rates achieved by each local authority; if he intends to change the level of inspections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26407/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere is an inspection target of 12-15% of all buildings covered by valid commencement notices and Performance Indicators compiled for 2010 by the Local Government Management Agency (outlined in the following table) show that all but five Building Control Authorities (Galway County, Mayo, Tipperary North, Waterford City and Wexford County) met or exceeded the target
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Buildings inspected as a percentage of new buildings notified to the local authority |
|
|
Carlow County Council |
44.06 |
|
Cavan County Council |
18.48 |
|
Clare County Council |
20.23 |
|
Cork City Council |
26.49 |
|
Cork County Council |
17.32 |
|
Donegal County Council |
16.99 |
|
Dublin City Council |
28.07 |
|
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council |
18.51 |
|
Fingal County Council |
12.71 |
|
Galway City Council |
28.85 |
|
Galway County Council |
6.28 |
|
Kerry County Council |
28.93 |
|
Kildare County Council |
58.68 |
|
Kilkenny County Council |
15.79 |
|
Laois County Council |
100.00 |
|
Leitrim County Council |
20.00 |
|
Limerick City Council |
60.00 |
|
Limerick County Council |
16.78 |
|
Longford County Council |
12.00 |
|
Louth County Council |
14.12 |
|
Mayo County Council |
10.98 |
|
Meath County Council |
47.76 |
|
Monaghan County Council |
25.69 |
|
North Tipperary County Council |
9.55 |
|
Offaly County Council |
22.39 |
|
Roscommon County Council |
17.37 |
|
Sligo County Council |
17.65 |
|
South Dublin County Council |
19.80 |
|
South Tipperary County Council |
35.16 |
|
Waterford City Council |
0.00 |
|
Waterford County Council |
24.19 |
|
Westmeath County Council |
22.22 |
|
Wexford County Council |
0.00 |
|
Wicklow County Council |
26.39 |
In July 2011, I announced a number of measures to be advanced by my Department and local authorities with a view to improving compliance with, and oversight of, the requirements of the building regulations.
In broad terms the measures will involve:
(a) the introduction of mandatory certificates of compliance by builders and designers of buildings confirming that the statutory requirements of the Building Regulations have been met;
(b) the lodgement of drawings at both commencement and completion of construction, demonstrating how the building has been designed and built to comply with all parts of the Building Regulations;
(c) more efficient pooling of building control staff and resources across the local authority sector to ensure more effective oversight of building activity;
(d) standardised approaches and common protocols to ensure nationwide consistency in the administration of building control functions;
(e) better support and further development of the building control function nationwide.
I have recently released, for public consultation, proposed Building Control (Amendment) Regulations which will provide for mandatory certification and the lodgement of drawings as referred to at (a) and (b) above. The closing date for submissions in relation to the proposed regulations was 24 May 2012 and some 500 submissions have been received and are currently being reviewed by my Department with a view to having the proposed Building Control (Amendment) Regulations finalised and signed into law later in 2012.
The other measures referred to above, relevant to more meaningful oversight of building activity by building control authorities and improved functioning of building control authorities, are being advanced separately by local authorities in consultation with my Department in the context of the wider programme of achieving greater efficiencies in the local government system.
Energy Efficient Buildings
566 Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding his pledge to achieve zero carbon homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26408/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government contains a commitment to further improve the energy efficiency of new buildings with a view to moving towards carbon neutral homes in the longer term. In tandem with this commitment, Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings requires EU Member States,inter alia, to ensure that all new buildings will be nearly zero-energy by 31 December 2020 (or by 31 December 2018 in the case of new buildings owned and occupied by public authorities).
The Directive broadly defines a ‘nearly zero-energy building' as a building with a high energy performance where the very low amount of energy required should, to a very significant extent, be met by energy from renewable sources, including renewable energy produced onsite or nearby.
Against this background, Ireland has been making significant progress in terms of both improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions within the built environment. Taking the energy efficiency requirements established in 2005 as the benchmark, the Building Regulations (Amendment) Regulations 2007 set the requirements necessary to achieve a 40% improvement (over the 2005 standards) in the energy and carbon performance of new dwellings. These regulations came into effect on 1 July 2008 subject to certain transitional arrangements.
Furthermore, last year, I signed the Building Regulations (Part L Amendment) Regulations 2011 and the accompanying Technical Guidance Document L — Conservation of Fuel and Energy — Dwellings (2011) into law. These regulations came into effect on 1 December 2011 and build on the substantial improvements already introduced under the 2007 regulations by delivering a 60% aggregate improvement (relative to 2005 standards) in both the energy and carbon performance of new buildings.
Part L 2011 marks an important step on the road to carbon neutrality and puts Ireland at the forefront of EU Member States in terms of energy efficiency standards for new dwellings. All the signs indicate that Irish builders and manufacturers continue to innovate and adapt their approaches and products to meet new standards as they continue to evolve progressively over time. This is important in terms of continuing the development of the market for energy efficient buildings and products domestically while also increasing the considerable potential that exists for high energy efficiency products in export markets. The new regulations are important in maintaining the momentum that has already been created in this regard.
My Department is also working on the development of a framework for achieving a nearly zero energy framework for dwellings in order to meet our obligations under Directive 2010/31/EU within the prescribed timeframe. It is anticipated that a nearly zero energy framework for dwellings will require further amendments to the building regulations over and above the recent Part L 2011 requirements.
