Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Boylan for raising the issue and providing me with the opportunity to update the Seanad on the steps my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, is taking with regard to this important matter.

The building regulations set out minimum standards for the design and construction of buildings and works to ensure the health and safety of people in and around such buildings. In general, the building regulations apply to the construction of new buildings and to extensions and material alterations to buildings. In addition, certain parts of the regulations apply to existing buildings where a material change to use takes place. All new dwellings must comply with building regulations and all key elements must have a durability of 60 years. The minimum performance requirements that a building must achieve are set out in 12 parts, classified as parts A to M, in the second schedule to the building regulations. They are expressed in terms of functional requirements and are performance based.

My Department publishes technical guidance documents to accompany each part of the building regulations indicating how the requirements of that part can be achieved in practice for common non-complex buildings. Adherence to the approach outlined in the technical guidance documents is regarded, prima facie, as evidence of compliance with the requirements of the relevant building regulations. The adoption of an approach other than that outlined in the guidance is not precluded provided that the relevant requirements of the regulations are complied with.

The building regulations are under ongoing review in the interests of safety and the well-being of persons in the built environment. My Department is currently concluding a review of Part B of the building regulations dealing with fire safety. The amendments will set out requirements for the design and construction of buildings to achieve a reasonable level of fire safety. While technical guidance document B generally limits the use of combustible construction timber in compartment floors for buildings with a topmost floor height of more than 10 m, the building regulations themselves do not prohibit the use of timber above this height provided compliance can be demonstrated and achieved. For new innovative products or systems not covered by existing standards, compliance with the building regulations can be demonstrated by third-party certification by an independent approval body, such as the National Standards Authority of Ireland.

It is critical to ensure that products, systems and, ultimately, buildings that are comprised of such products and systems are designed, constructed and certified as fit for purpose, having regard to their intended end use. Manufacturers of timber-frame buildings are assessed under an approval scheme operated by the NSAI for compliance with the Irish standard on timber frame construction, IS 440. This standard provides details on responsibilities, materials, design, manufacture, construction details, site work and services. My Department does not have an approval function and does not approve or endorse products for compliance with the building regulations or standards.

The Government's Housing for All action plan update articulates a critical need to enable a continuous and accelerated flow of compliant and high-quality innovations in construction, including modern methods of construction. This is to ensure delivery of Housing for All targets and the ongoing transformation of the construction sector. It also facilitates efforts to reduce the embodied carbon and life cycle environmental impacts of construction. Officials from this Department are members of the timber in construction working group, which was recently established by the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, and facilitated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The scope of this group includes a review of industry capacity, technical research and guidance and the regulatory environment to support the development of mass timber construction in Ireland. The working group is a forum for the Government and industry to work collaboratively to increase the use of timber in construction, while ensuring the highest degree of building safety and property protection.

In addition, my Department is working hard to implement impactful measures for the decarbonisation of embodied carbon in construction materials. Reduction of these emissions will be driven at EU level by an updated and strengthened energy performance of buildings directive and construction products regulation.This EU legislation will create a harmonised framework to assess and communicate the environmental and climate performance of construction products in the EU Single Market. In accordance with the climate action plan, my Department is engaging with the SEAI to put in place embodied carbon methodology for new buildings from the end of 2025. In accordance with the draft energy performance of buildings directive, this declaration of global warming potential will be included in the building energy rating certificate.