Ms Sarah Neary:

I will take that. The journey of reforming building control probably started back in 2011. Many defects and issues were arising in the previous ten years, with the builds from the early 2000s. After reflecting on the system, a three-point plan was developed, which resulted in SI 9 of the building control regulations in 2014; the development of a shared service for the building control implementation at local authority level; and the concept of a register of competent builders. SI 9 created a responsibility, starting with the owner or initiator of a project, to identify competent people to act at design stage, follow through into construction stage and, ultimately, achieve certification at the end for compliance with building regulations. The Hackitt report, which came out on foot of Grenfell four or five years later, identified that need for a chain of responsibility. Dame Judith Hackitt called it the golden thread of responsibility throughout the process. We established that through SI 9.

With regard to the shared service, each of the 31 local authorities has a building control function and carry out inspections. The local authorities have wide powers of inspection and enforcement under the Building Control Acts. The shared service was a supporting office carrying out training, compliance, support, the IT system, the building control management system, BCMS, and, more recently, a market surveillance module. The shared service has become national office, the National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office. The office is under the auspices of Dublin City Council at present and it strengthens and supports local implementation.

Construction Industry Register Ireland, CIRI, the Act was passed last year for competent, registered builder. It is in the implementation phases now. The Construction Industry Federation, CIF, will be its registration body. It establishes, for the first time, a level of competency for builders who are registered.