Mr. Terry Sheridan:

I thank the members of the committee, including the sponsor of this Bill, Deputy Cowen, for giving me and my colleagues an opportunity to discuss in more detail some of the key elements of the Vacant Housing (Refurbishment) Bill 2017 subsequent to its initial discussion on Second Stage in the Dáil last month. The departmental colleagues who are accompanying me are Ms Sarah Neary, who is the Department's principal adviser on building standards, Mr. Niall Cussen, who is the Department's chief planner, and Mr. Brendan Buggy, who works in the Department's new empty homes unit.

As part of the overarching Rebuilding Ireland policy document, we are committed to bringing vacant properties back into use. There is scope to maximise the use of many underused or vacant properties in this country. It should be noted that many such units remain underutilised for a number of complex reasons. It can be labour-intensive and financially unreasonable to identify and reactivate them. The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, with the assistance and advice of the Housing Agency, has undertaken substantial analysis and consideration of the issues around vacant housing. Earlier this summer, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, announced that various actions are being taken at central and local government levels to prioritise the identification and reuse of vacant homes and buildings, particularly in vacancy hotspot areas where there is significant pent-up demand for houses. It is in this context that the Department has examined the Vacant Housing (Refurbishment) Bill 2017. I would like to take this opportunity to outline briefly the Department's broad views on the overarching provisions of the Bill in advance of more detailed discussions.

Section 2, which relates to building standards, proposes amendments to the Building Control Act 1990 to provide for a one-stop shop local authority process, exemptions from fire safety certificates, disability access certificates and certificates of compliance on completion, exemptions from being recorded on the building register, an alternative building control system, and amendments to regulations regarding structure, fire, sound, ventilation, stairs, energy efficiency and accessibility. While we support the broad intention of the Bill, concerns are raised by the proposal to alter the performance requirements of building regulations in respect of fire safety, structural safety and ventilation, etc. These fundamental regulations protect the health and safety of people in and around buildings. Unfortunately, many incidences of building failures and severe non-compliance with building regulations have come to light over the past decade. As part of the response to this, new building control requirements have been introduced to bring a new order and discipline to bear on construction projects. For that reason, we have reservations about the proposal to exempt the complex work of developing existing buildings for residential use from these requirements without appropriate alternative arrangements that maintain the integrity of the standards and process.

A working group established by the Department has been tasked with developing new guidance to provide clarity on the regulatory requirements that apply when existing buildings are being developed for residential use and advising on how best to facilitate the reuse or development of underused older buildings in the context of such regulatory requirements. This group, which includes people with expertise in building regulations, fire safety in buildings, planning, design and heritage from inside and outside the Department, has met twice and a further meeting is scheduled for next Monday. The group has been gathering evidence on the real regulatory difficulties faced by people when they are bringing vacant buildings back into use for residential purposes. The working group has identified a number of common existing building typologies, worked on the application of the regulations to existing works and commenced developing guidance for these circumstances. An online application system for fire safety certificates, disability access certificates and dispensation and relaxation is being developed to help further streamline and speed up the certification process.

Sections 3 and 4 propose amendments to the Planning and Development Act 2000. Section 3 relates to exempted development provisions and proposes three new classes of exemptions in the context of residential development, including works requiring the change of use from commercial or industrial use to residential use. Section 4 provides for the new one-stop shop application procedure mentioned earlier in the Bill to be used to expedite requests for section 5 declarations and states that this will be determined by a panel of "authorised persons". As the Government has already committed under Rebuilding Ireland to reviewing planning legislation to allow the change of use of vacant commercial units as residential units without the need for planning, we can indicate broad support for the thrust of the planning related proposals. In this regard, the Department is at an advanced stage of redrafting proposed amendments in this regard by means of secondary regulations rather than by means of primary legislation as proposed in the Bill.

It is intended that the draft regulations will shortly be presented to the committee and to both Houses of the Oireachtas for approval before these proposed regulatory amendments can come into effect. We are holding a further meeting on Monday on these proposed exempted development regulations.

A key point distinguishing the draft regulations from the features of the Bill is that it is not proposed to require a mandatory section 5 declaration prior to availing of the exemptions.The draft regulations are more streamlined in approach. In keeping with existing exemptions procedures, a developer will immediately be able to avail of the exemption without the need to engage with, and get confirmation from, the planning authority before commencing work.

Separately, there is a concern about the proposal in the Bill which concerns making the subdivision of a dwelling into two or more dwellings exempt from planning permission. This conflicts with the Planning and Development Act 2000, which provides that such development is a material change of use and intensification of use, requiring consideration by a planning authority through the planning application process, with particular regard to protecting residential amenity and other considerations.

These are just some initial thoughts on the provisions of the Bill. Hopefully over the course of these discussions we can provide some additional insight into the proposals set out byDeputy Cowen and we will be happy to address any questions the committee may have to the best of our ability.