Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann resolves that Statutory Instrument No. 105 of 2014 Building Control (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2014 be annulled.

The Minister is very welcome. We accept that Ireland needs a very strong regulatory system to maintain a high quality standard of building for family homes. I am sure the Minister will clarify the matter, but it appears the proposed statutory instrument is a response to the Priory Hall debacle. I do not mean in any to take away from the hurt and pain experienced by those living in Priory Hall and I have welcomed the swift response of Government. However, I wonder if the Minister is aware of the potential devastation the regulations will cause in rural Ireland.
It may sound like hyperbole, but I sat with a man in the last couple of weeks who has spent his entire life in the building industry. He has worked as a draftsman and been involved in the planning, design and execution of many one-off houses and small developments in towns and villages in County Leitrim. His family and income will be wiped out as a result of the regulations. He instanced to me a recent example where a young man in a rural part of the county decided he wanted to build an extension to the family home following his recent marriage. He and his father were to carry out the building work. He has been told he cannot do that. Under the regulations, he will have to employ an architect and a person who is legally obliged to sign off on the building. He will also have to employ registered labour. The estimated extra cost of the exercise is between €40,000 and €50,000. That is what I mean when I refer to the potential devastation of rural Ireland.
The example I have set out is typical of what will happen as a side-effect of the regulations, which seem to have been introduced to address a primarily urban issue. The potential difficulties they will cause in rural Ireland have been neglected and ignored completely. It comes on top of every other decision the Government has taken on rural Ireland, although I will not go into the litany now. When the people go to vote in next month's elections, I wonder if they will continue to be sleep-walked into believing the Government is considering their best interests. The decisions that have been taken by the Government on rural Ireland have not been in the best interest of the people who live there. If the Minister disagrees with me, I would like him to explain how the regulations will not place an unnecessary financial burden on many people who will be involved in one-off houses or extensions such as the one I referred to. A further example is where someone has a residence which has not been properly processed and now seeks retention permission from the local authority. While the local authority might - and it is a big might - grant the permission, the house cannot be sold by the family in future as it will not be insured. As the local authority will be aware of the potential risk in this regard, it is likely it will reject the retention application. The only option left for the family or individual is demolition.
I understand that local authorities are not geared up to take the new regulations into account and are reluctant to get involved in this area. They do not have the necessary resources or will to take on much of what the Minister plans to implement in the proposed statutory instrument. To recap, I note - allowing for the usual exemptions - that anyone who wishes to build anything will be required by law to employ an assigned professional engineer, architect or surveyor to inspect the property. Does the Minister know how many people there are in Leitrim who could sign off on this? There are two, one of whom I know is reluctant to be involved in this area at all. That person has other business and does not want to get involved in this. The regulations will place a hefty and disproportionate financial burden on one-off housing in the countryside. I understand that the inevitable increase in building costs has been recognised by the Department but no action has been taken.
There has been no public information campaign, leading to speculation about the consequences of changes which may harm the construction sector. The level of resources being provided to local authorities to handle the deluge of information and paperwork that will result from the new system is questionable. Perhaps the Minister has a view on foot of his relationship with local authorities.

Perhaps the Minister has a view on his relationship with the local authorities. Even someone who understands every technology installed in the building would have to be on-site full time monitoring every building activity to make the claim on the certificate and this will increase costs.

They may have a broader impact on insurance. The warranty is potentially uninsurable as it relies on warranting the work of a third party without any concession to the principle of reasonable inspection. There needs to be a broader suite of measures to enhance the protection of building standards to make sure all construction is up to scratch and to avoid the worst excesses of the boom time building. We propose that there should be a national building inspectorate examining at least 40% of the buildings under construction, a system of licensing or registration of builders and information on builders should be shared among the relevant local authorities with full prosecutions of any designers or contractors who are negligent in their duties. We have other proposals and Senator Ó'Domhnaill will expand on them.