Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

A retail unit in my constituency is built, fitted out, stocked and ready to open, serve the community and provide employment. The problem is that it cannot open because of a national disagreement on interpretation between the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and local authorities, in this instance Dublin City Council. My constituent, the owner of the premises, wants but cannot get a fire regularisation certificate. Under the Building Control Act 2007, the Department issued SI 351, Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2009. I am told there is a dispute between all local authorities and the Minister's office regarding the interpretation of the statutory instrument. As a result, no fire regularisation certificates have been issued anywhere this year. If so, it is a disgrace that needs early attention. Will the Minister of State, who is standing in for the Minister, Deputy Gormley, sort out the overall issue and the case I am raising, the details of which have been given?

It has been suggested that a line in the regulations asks the fire officer to certify that the works, as constructed, comply with the regulations. Were "as" changed to "if", all would be well, everyone would be happy and the certificates could flow nationally. Will the Department issue an amended statutory instrument or some other solution that would lead to the opening of my constituent's shop being approved, pending clarification of the national dispute? The owner has made a considerable investment and the building, which is three or four storeys high, was built two or three years ago. Apartments are overhead and the retail unit was recently outfitted at an approximate cost of €250,000. Will the Department take some action to allow this shop to be opened, even on a temporary basis? The interpretation of the statutory instrument could be sorted out afterwards.

For five years, I was a Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I will not say that I know where some of the bodies are, but I have a slight knowledge of the Department and I can read between the lines to some extent. There seems to be confusion and non-co-operation between two sections of the Department, namely, the building control and fire sections. If so, it is a disgrace and the issue should be sorted out. It has been suggested that there will be an informal meeting in the Department tomorrow, but we are not even sure whether senior officials from the two sections will be present in the same room. Some people seem to believe that there is no problem and that, if they ignore it, it will go away.

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