In response to the many building failures of the past, 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 professional (i.e. an architect or a building surveyor or a chartered engineer who is included on a statutory register maintained by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland or Engineers Ireland, respectively). 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.
Previously local authorities were generally exempt from building control requirements; this general exemption was removed by the Building Control (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2015 with effect from 1 September 2015 following a review of the 2014 Regulations after 12 months of operation. As a result of this, the design and assigned certifier roles for local authority projects must be undertaken by a registered construction professional (i.e. an architect, a building surveyor or a chartered engineer), who may be an employee of a local authority or whose services may be procured by way of public tender. These inspection and certification roles are statutory obligations.
In the context of public works contracts, the roles, responsibilities, functions and powers of the parties to the Contract (i.e. the Employer and the Contractor) are clearly set out. These generally include obligations under Building Regulations, Building Control Regulations, Health and Safety Legislation, appropriate supervision, quality assurance procedures, monitoring of the quality of works etc. Specific arrangements in this regard are a matter for the contracting authority (including local authorities), depending on the size, complexity and risk of the project. In this context, it should be noted that there is no statutory requirement to have a clerk of works on building developments nor is it a decision for my Department whether to appoint a clerk of works or not, as this is a matter for the contracting authority (including local authorities).
