Mr. Aidan O'Connor:

I was asked for my opinion on compliance, pyrite and the role of the local authorities.

It is clear to me that the opinion of compliance was just that, an opinion. When one reads the documentation, there were often five to seven different opinions. Let me give an example. In one report it stated, "On the day I saw it, it was all finished and it seemed to be okay." The person did not see anything and was not able to see what had been done. That was one form of compliance. That should have been a red flag in itself. Should it have been a red flag to the legal profession?

There were several levels of opinion on compliance. Some stated that the person who designed it, supervised it, inspected it and listed the number of inspections would provide the most comprehensive system of inspections. I believe many people did do that with the best of intentions. I am not casting aspersions on them but some took a lighter approach. When it operated in the way it operated how could one really enforce the regulations with that mechanism? That is the reason we are bringing in enforcement regulations.

The original reason I was invited to appear before the joint committee is that the chairman of the BRAB could not make it and I am taking his place. The board's role was to advise the Minister on the issues that it considered should be regulated as well as processes such as the production line issues that the Department does. There is also the updating of the regulations - Part A, Part B, Part C and so on. There is a great deal of updating of Part L dealing with energy efficiencies.

The opinions on compliance were not part of the building control Acts but were often perceived to be. In many ways the consumer drew comfort from them as a protection. One would want to look at the different forms to see which of them one would be happy with. We are replacing that provision on new construction with the statutory certificates of compliance, which are quite detailed forms that must be signed off and a final certificate provided at the end. There are staged signing offs with a final certification at the end. That will have to be accompanied by supporting documentation with ancillary certificates. All the manufacturers' warranties will be included.

The local authorities are not responsible for certifying compliance. The person who does the work has to show that it is compliant with the regulations. The manufacturers of a product have to show the product they are selling is compliant. It is not the role of the local authority to be the arbiter. If persons seek to have a definition of their product they can go the National Standards Authority of Ireland, NSAI, or the Irish Agrément Board, which is part of NSAI, to seek a certificate to state exactly what the product is suitable for. We are reliant on the person putting the item up for sale to do that. The standards procedures are in place and the manufacturer must establish that its products meet the standards. The local authority or the Government does not become involved in that.