Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2016
382. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the improvements in legislation he plans to make to improve planning regulations and standards to protect private homeowners from the building of sub-standard accommodation and to ensure homes built comply with all fire safety regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12949/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Building Regulations 1997 to 2014 set out the legal requirements for the construction of new buildings (including houses), extensions to existing buildings as well as for material alterations and certain material changes of use to existing buildings and are divided in 12 parts (classified as Parts A to M). Technical Guidance Documents (TGDs) are published to accompany each of the parts and provide guidance indicating how the requirements of that part can be achieved in practice. These TGDs can be freely accessed on my Department’s website at: http://www.environ.ie/housing/building-standards/tgd-part-d-materials-and-workmanship/technical-guidance-documents.
Where works are carried out in accordance with the relevant technical guidance such works are considered to be, prima facie, in compliance with the relevant regulation(s). Compliance with the Regulations is the responsibility of the owner or builder of a building or works while enforcement is a matter for the 31 local building control authorities.
In response to the many building failures that have emerged over the past decade, my Department introduced the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 which require greater accountability in relation to compliance with Building Regulations in the form of statutory certification of design and construction by registered construction professionals and builders, lodgement of compliance documentation, mandatory inspections during construction and validation and registration of certificates.
Statutory certificates of compliance, where relevant, must be given at commencement (design only) and completion and must be signed by a registered construction profession (i.e. an Architect or a Building Surveyor or a chartered Engineer who is included on a statutory register maintained respectively by the Royal Institution of Architects of Ireland, the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland or Engineers Ireland). The statutory certificate of compliance on completion must also be signed by the builder.
In effect, the statutory Certificate of Compliance on Completion certifies that a building is compliant with all relevant requirements of the Building Regulations, including the fire safety requirements set out in Part B and the accompanying technical guidance.
The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 were reviewed following their first 12 months in operation. It is clear from this review that the recent reforms have brought a new order and discipline to bear on construction projects. In this regard, I am confident that as the transition to the new arrangements for the control of building activity continues to progress, these reforms will in time prove capable of transforming the culture of the construction industry in Ireland to one of improved compliance and quality.
Complementary to the above , Construction Industry Register Ireland (CIRI) has been established as a voluntary register of builders, contractors and specialist trade persons by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF). Under Construction 2020 – A Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector, the Government has signalled its commitment to placing the register on a statutory footing. This is seen as an additional essential consumer protection measure giving consumers who engage a registered builder the assurance that they are dealing with a competent and compliant operator. Legislative proposals in this regard are currently being prepared by my Department with a view to their being presented to Government for consideration in the near future.
These measures taken together will foster a greater emphasis on competence, professionalism and quality in our construction industry into the future thereby ensuring that homeowners and clients can rely on getting the high quality homes and buildings they expect and deserve.
