Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government
Review of Part B (Fire Safety) of Building Regulations: Dublin Fire Brigade
Mr. Dennis Keeley:
On the tensions around costs, I suspect that some of that 80% is cost. I would be reluctant to put an exact percentage on it. There is another factor we are trying to address in Dublin Fire Brigade, which is early engagement with planners. We find that if a planner sets out their stall for a development, whether a nursing home, underground car park or whatever else, they are operating under the current regulations. That is fair. When they discover Dublin Fire Brigade is looking for some additional components to that structure, it obviously can come as a surprise. If that is on us, then we have to address it. We have had a number of workshops with the industry. We try to engage with it to ensure there are no surprises. That intervention with planners at the early stage would help, where they at least consider designing in what we are asking, depending on the nature of the build.
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