Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations were introduced in 2014 in response to serious concerns for public safety which arose from the prevalence of failed or seriously defective homes following the economic crisis and the collapse of the building sector. The regulations require that compliance with building regulations must be verified through the execution of an inspection plan that enables the builder and the assigned certifier to sign a statutory certificate of compliance on completion.

It has been asserted that the obligations of the regulations impose a substantial additional cost on builders and developers. However, costings prepared by my Department in 2015 as part of its review of the first 12 months of operation of the regulations demonstrate that the new assigned certifier role can be achieved for approximately €3,800 per dwelling. Economies of scale mean the cost per unit will be considerably lower for multi-unit developments. Where additional design work is required, the combined cost for design and assigned certifier duties for a single dwelling is approximately €6,000. A number of respondents at public consultation have confirmed that assigned certifier services can be secured in line with the Department’s costings. Owners of one-off houses were given the facility to opt out of statutory certification from 1 September 2015 under the Building Control (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2015.

A number of important measures aimed at improving housing viability were already introduced by the previous Government.

These include the modification of obligations under Part V of the Planning and Development Acts to balance viability and social delivery, and the retrospective application of reduced development contributions to older planning permissions. In addition, revised planning guidelines on apartment standards, now placed on a statutory footing under the Planning and Development Acts, have the potential to significantly reduce the cost of building high-quality apartments.

In the context of preparing a new action plan for housing, my Department continues to liaise closely with other Departments and agencies and with industry stakeholders with a view to identifying any reasonable and appropriate measures that may be taken in the interests of reducing construction overheads to facilitate an increased level of housing output.

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