Batt O'Keeffe (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, and I have listened with great interest to Deputies' valuable Second Stage contributions. We acknowledge the non-partisan approach adopted by Deputies, who have welcomed the Bill and supported its broad objectives while raising legitimate issues and queries about the details of the Bill's seven parts and 68 sections. As most Bills presented to the House can be improved through amendment, we will carefully consider all amendments proposed on Committee Stage.

To recap, the Building Control Bill 2005 has three main objectives: to strengthen the enforcement powers of local building control authorities and to improve the accessibility of buildings for people with disabilities; to transpose certain provisions of the European Union energy performance of buildings directive; and to provide for the registration of the titles "architect", "quantity surveyor" and "building surveyor". I will respond to the Second Reading debate in the order in which these objectives are dealt with in the Bill. Unfortunately, time does not permit me to respond to all matters raised by Deputies so I will focus on those that appear to be the core issues. Perhaps we can return to the other matters on Committee Stage.

On the issue of enforcement, it is safe to say there is universal support in this House for the introduction of a disability access certificate, as recommended by the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and I agree with many Deputies that the building code enforcement provisions, as strengthened by the Bill, will be of no real value unless they are actively invoked by local building control authorities. As already mentioned, Deputy Roche will write to each city council and county council manager to ask them to take personal responsibility for improving enforcement at local level.

Although the Government aims to regulate and control the number of staff employed in the public service including those in local authorities within agreed ceilings, we will attach a high priority to the implementation of the Bill when it is enacted. We are keeping the overall employment position in local authorities under review. Obviously, there are many competing demands over the wide range of local authority functions due to the expanding economy, but the Minister will take the necessary steps, along with his colleague the Minister for Finance, to ensure that essential staff are employed to give effect to the provisions of the Bill.

We accept that the statistical data available to my Department on building control enforcement are somewhat limited and need to be improved. However, building control officers have said that we should not measure enforcement activity solely by the numbers of enforcement notices, injunctions and prosecutions. They argue that such legal procedures are ultimately a measure of the failure rather than success of the building control system in individual cases. Non-compliance issues are often successfully resolved by discussions and correspondence between building control officers and builders. My Department has asked local building control authorities that data relating to this more informal enforcement activity be included in the statistical returns for the second half of 2005. My Department will also seek a breakdown of future data to identify which parts of the building regulations are the subject of non-compliance enforcement procedures and proceedings.

We agree with Deputy Twomey that it is vital that measures be taken to prevent the spread of fire in apartment blocks. Such measures are required under part B of the Building Regulations 1997, which deals with fire safety. The design of all new apartment blocks — irrespective of the type of construction involved — must be certified as compliant with part B by the local building control authority. It is the duty of the builder to construct apartments in accordance with the certified design.

Deputy Dennehy expressed concern about the feasibility of fighting fires in tall buildings. It is true that fire ladders and external fire hoses can generally only reach up to seven or eight storeys. Accordingly, fire safety design in tall buildings is generally based on: the early detection of fires, through smoke alarms and heat detection systems; rapid evacuation of all occupants, through emergency stairways compartmentalised against smoke; and fighting fires using water supplies from internal fire hydrants located on each floor.

Deputies also expressed concern about the desirability and practicability of retrospectively regularising fire safety certificates after building works have been started or completed. As local building control authorities have granted retrospective certificates on a pragmatic basis over the years, the Bill will simply provide a clear legal basis for established practice. We agree with Deputies Murphy and O'Dowd that the ideal situation would be for developers to secure the certificate before work commences. We acknowledge that the seven days' notice procedure allows developers a legal mechanism to start urgent development projects before certification. However, we stress that this procedure is subject to an undertaking by the developer to carry out any work modifications required by the fire safety certificate when it is granted. This is modelled on a similar provision in the building code for England and Wales.

Deputy Quinn referred to the option of introducing a system for the mandatory self-certification of compliance, as recommended in the 2004 report of a joint working group representing the building professions. The report acknowledges that, if the principle of mandatory self-certification is accepted, the Building Control Act 1990 would need to be amended and the details of the respective responsibilities of designers, main contractors and specialist sub-contractors would need to be worked out. My Department has considered the 2004 report but has a number of reservations about self-certification. First, there is a potential conflict of interest between a certifier's business relationship with the client who commissions the building and the certifier's duty properly to certify compliance to the building control authority. Second, the unfortunate reality is that some building professionals have been willing to issue compliance certificates for non-compliant building works under the Law Society's opinion on compliance system, which has been in operation since the early 1990s. This is acknowledged in the working group's report. Finally, there are major issues surrounding the arrangement, organisation and funding of essential independent audits of self-certification and the liability of auditors for any deficient certification.

Deputy Quinn pointed out that the registration of architects and surveyors under the Bill will introduce a mechanism for establishing who is entitled to self-certify. He suggested that this mechanism could also be used subsequently in the regulation of professional conduct and should act as a disincentive to dishonest self-certification. However, my Department would need to do much more work, in partnership with all the stakeholders, before the Government would be in a position to recommend the necessary enabling and amending legislation. We doubt that this process could be engaged in during the enactment of this Bill but we are willing to start work on it when it is enacted.

Much has been said in the media about the alleged tardiness of Ireland in transposing the EU directive on the energy performance of buildings. This is based on a misunderstanding that all the provisions of this directive should have been transposed on January 2006. Article 15 of the directive allows member states until 4 January 2009 to transpose the provisions relating to the building energy rating under Article 7, promotion of the energy efficiency of boilers under Article 8 and mandatory inspection of air conditioning systems under Article 9. Article 15 is an acknowledgement by the European Union than Articles 7 to 9 are demanding requirements that involve complex supporting technical and administrative arrangements.

It is interesting to note that other EU member states are also grappling with the complexities involved. I understand that, as of 31 January 2006, only ten member states, including Ireland, or 40% of the 25 member states, had notified the European Commission of partial or total transposition of this directive. All ten member states propose to defer full implementation beyond January 2006.

We are commencing the energy rating of over 80,000 new houses annually in 2007, as such rating can initially be done off plans. We will move on to the rating of existing houses, when sold or let, by 2009. This will involve the physical inspection of an estimated 100,000 houses annually. The energy rating will generally be done by building professionals in private practice who will undergo training of about one week's duration. Sustainable Energy Ireland plans to arrange the training of up to an estimated 2,000 building professionals in energy rating over the period 2006-09.

All sides of the House have welcomed the proposal to register the titles of "architect", "quantity surveyor" and "building surveyor". There is more or less universal agreement that the time has come to protect consumers from unqualified persons passing themselves off as building professionals to unsuspecting citizens building new houses or undertaking house extensions. The relevant building professional organisations, led by the RIAI and SCS, were consulted on a confidential basis during the drafting of the provisions in Parts 3 to 7 of the Bill. However, these organisations are proposing a number of refinements of the Bill, as published, and these will all be carefully considered on Committee Stage.

In reply to points made by Deputy Broughan and Deputy Fiona O'Malley it should be noted that under the Building Control Act 1990, there has always been a right of appeal against the refusal of fire safety certificates or conditions attached to these certificates consistent with the principles of natural justice. This right of appeal is being extended to the new disability access certificate. Ireland's insulation standards are among the highest in Europe. The grant scheme for the installation of renewable energy systems in individual houses will shortly be announced by the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey.

I thank Deputies for their considered contributions and we look forward to a constructive debate on Committee Stage.

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