Ms Sarah Neary:

I thank the Chairman and members of the committee for inviting my colleagues and me to appear before them today. We welcome very much this opportunity to discuss the building regulations, building control and consumer protection matters and to provide a comprehensive account of what has happened over recent years in reforming the building control system and our other work. It was very interesting to listen to the earlier exchange of views and I hope we will address some of the issues raised in the opening statement and the discussions that follow.

The design and construction of buildings is regulated under the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014. The 1990 Act provides for the making of building regulations and building control regulations and establishes local authorities as the building control authorities, specifying the powers of inspection and enforcement they have. The primary purpose of the building regulations is to protect the health and safety of people in and around buildings and their focus is on the protection of people rather than of property. The second schedule of the building regulations 1997 to 2017 is comprised of 12 distinct parts, classified as parts A to M, each of which deals with a functional requirement for buildings or works, for example structure, fire safety, energy conservation, accessibility, etc. Accompanying each part is a technical guidance document which the Department produces. Where works are carried out in accordance with the relevant technical guidance, they are considered to be prima facieevidence of compliance with the regulations. The Department's aim is to develop and promote a strong and evolving building code in support of quality construction and sustainable development. The building regulations are subject to ongoing review in the interests of safety and the well-being of persons in light of emerging national issues and innovation and change in the sector and to implement European legislation. The purpose of the building control regulations is to set out the procedures, administration and control mechanisms to secure the implementation of and compliance with the requirements of building regulations.

While it is important to recognise that there are many good quality buildings which comply with building regulations, we are all too well aware, unfortunately, of the many instances of building failures which have come to light over the past decade. The economic and personal consequences of these situations have been very significant. To address this situation, the then Minister announced in July 2011 that the system was to be strengthened. A high level working group, which included officials from the Department and local government, liaised closely with industry to review the building control regulatory framework. The group identified two key deficiencies. These were the lack of professional involvement on site and the lack of accountability in relation to compliance with the building regulations. After much negotiation and consultation, it was through the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2011, SI 9 of 2014, that the reform agenda emerged. The key measures in the 2011 regulations are the requirement that designs be certified by a registered construction professional and submitted before works commence; the requirement that owners appoint a competent builder who in turn must certify that construction works comply with building regulations at the end of the process, and the requirement that owners appoint an assigned certifier to prepare an inspection plan, carry out or oversee it and, ultimately, certify compliance with the building regulations on completion.

The assigned certifier must prepare an inspection plan, carry out or oversee that inspection plan and ultimately certify compliance with building regulations on completion. Any changes in the circumstances of the owner, builder or assigned certifier must be notified to the local building control authority within a very short space of time during the construction works, that is, within two weeks. A certificate of compliance on completion is jointly signed by the builder and the assigned certifier. This must be accompanied by plans and documentation to show how the constructed building complies with the building regulations and also the inspection plan, as implemented. The certificate of compliance, on completion, must be sent to the building control authority and included on a register before the building can be opened, occupied or used. SI 9 also details what should be publicly available in relation to a building or works, in terms of the building register, which is made public for everyone. In addition, SI 9 also provides that the drawings and particulars of any building or works should be accessible under freedom of information from the building control authority to any person who has an interest in the property. It also provides for a more detailed outline of the roles and responsibilities of the key personnel, including owners, designers, assigned certifiers and builders, through a code of practice known as the code of practice for inspecting and certifying buildings and works. That code was produced in late 2014 and revised last year.

I will now turn to building control authorities, about which there has already been much talk this morning. I wish to clarify again that while the primary responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the building regulations rests with the designers, builders and the owners of the buildings, as part of the major reform that has occurred in recent years, the oversight and governance of the building control system was also scrutinised. To improve the effectiveness of building control authorities, a number of changes have occurred. The building control management system, BCMS, was developed. BCMS is a national IT enabler which was launched to coincide with the commencement of SI 9 of 2014. It ensures the consistent implementation of the measures in SI 9 and assists local authorities with the increased volume of documentation they are receiving. The BCMS provides a common platform for clear and consistent administration of building control matters across the local authority sector. In addition to the BCMS, a framework for building control authorities was published in 2014. It standardised operational activity, that is, work practices, systems, procedures and decision-making in relation to oversight of building control activity across the sector. I can provide more detail on that later, if necessary.

Another measure introduced was a compliance support work stream to support local authorities further in dealing with their own queries or with queries that had been brought to them by private practitioners. These queries are dealt with at a centralised level and can then be applied nationally. Training programmes are currently being developed to empower staff fully at building control authorities to carry out their work effectively. These include foundation level courses, continuing professional development courses and also a professional postgraduate course. Finally, and most fundamentally, is the requirement for meaningful inspections of building activity. In this regard, a BCMS module is being developed on the inspection process whereby, at commencement stage, those engaging with the commencement notice would have to fill out an online assessment of the building with which they are involved. This would inform a risk assessment at the back end of BCMS, which would then provide information to local authorities to carry out risk-based and targeted inspections, thus using their staff in the most effective and efficient way.

The Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, and the County and City Management Association, CCMA, have been instrumental in driving these reforms. To sustain the momentum and commitment among the sector we are working towards encapsulating all of these work streams into a centralised structure for the governance and oversight of the building control function. This structure will ultimately be a shared service embedded in a lead local authority. The concept of shared services is to consolidate transactional activities, ideally using automated processes such as the BCMS, thereby allowing concentration on core and strategic activities at building control level.

In terms of consumer protection, there are a number of points to note. Prior to its introduction, a commitment was given that SI 9 of 2014 would be reviewed after 12 months. This review took place early in 2015. The review found that industry stakeholders considered the reforms to be necessary, effective and that they should continue. Statutory certification was welcomed by the insurance, banking and legal sectors and is perceived as a responsible regulatory measure which makes Ireland a more attractive place for construction related trade and investment. It is worth noting that there has been an increase in the availability of construction related insurance products such as first party latent defects insurance. Some of these insurance products also cover non-damage related issues and product failures. This increase demonstrates that Ireland is a more attractive place for insurance and that the measures that have been put in place have worked. This must be viewed in the context of the major retrenchment and conservatism in the wider insurance industry at the moment.

Another significant change that has happened in the recent past is the introduction of the construction products regulation which came into effect in July 2013. The regulation establishes a common technical language across Europe for products being placed on the market. This allows specifiers to define very clearly what they require from construction products. The State has been involved in developing recommendations and guidelines for specifiers in this regard for various products. On the other side, the regulation also requires that manufacturers declare performance using the same common technical language, thus informing specifiers, designers and builders very clearly whether the products meet the performance requirements stipulated and can be considered proper materials under the building regulations.

Another piece of the jigsaw in terms of consumer protection is the placing of the Construction Industry Register Ireland, CIRI, on a statutory footing. The main objective of this is to develop and promote a culture of competence, good practice and compliance with the building regulations in the builder community of the construction sector which will benefit consumers and the general public. The legislative proposals in this regard are being finalised by the Department with a view to them being presented to Government for consideration shortly.

The failures of the past in construction arose largely due to inadequate design, poor workmanship, the use of improper products or a combination of these. The significant reforms that have been introduced and are under way are aimed at addressing these three distinct areas. The reforms that have been in operation for a number of years now have brought a new order and discipline to bear on construction projects and have created a culture of compliance with the building regulations. I thank the members for their attention and look forward to their questions.