Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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503. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he is satisfied that regulations are in place to deal with developers who have consistently breached fire safety regulations in the construction of dwellings in different locations, requiring evacuation in some instances and costly remediation works which have not been completed, and yet are being granted permission to develop new schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45954/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Local authorities have extensive powers of inspection and enforcement under the Building Control Acts, the Fire Services Acts and the Planning and Development Acts, all of which are relevant to safety in the built environment, and use such powers where concerns in relation to developments arise. Neither I, nor my Department, has any direct role in relation to the granting of permission for new developments or in relation to any oversight or enforcement activity under the various Acts outlined. The relevant statutory powers are vested in local authorities who are independent in the exercise of their statutory functions and I cannot intervene in any individual case. In general, however, I expect local authorities to continue to use all of the powers currently available to them to address issues of compliance with regulatory requirements, including in relation to fire safety, where they arise and to respond appropriately to any concerns which are brought to their attention.

The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 which came into operation on 1 March 2014, greatly strengthen the arrangements in place for the control of building activity. In particular the regulations empower competence and professionalism in design and construction and require greater accountability in relation to compliance with Building Regulations in the form of statutory certificates of design and construction, lodgement of compliance documentation, mandatory inspection during construction and validation and registration of statutory certificates. I am satisfied that this key reform of the regulatory framework represents a reasonable and appropriate response to the many building failures that occurred in the past decade and will lead to improved quality within the construction sector.