Written answers

Thursday, 14 April 2016

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Building Regulations

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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767. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he has formally finalised the membership of the expert panel established to investigate problems of concrete block work in counties Donegal and Mayo; the names of the members of the panel; when the panel will complete and publish its final report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6459/16]

Photo of Paudie CoffeyPaudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Earlier this year, I announced the appointment of Mr. Denis McCarthy to chair the expert panel that is being established to investigate the problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Donegal and Mayo. Mr. McCarthy is a former Director of Services with Waterford County Council and has the necessary mix of skills and experience that will be required to direct and manage the work of the expert panel over the months ahead.

Following Mr. McCarthy’s appointment, my Department wrote to the National Standards Authority of Ireland, Engineers Ireland and the Institute of Geologists of Ireland seeking nominations for suitable persons to participate on the expert panel; in this context, I recently announced the full composition of the expert panel as:

- Mr. Noel Kane, BE, Dip Comp Eng, EurIng, CEng, FIEI, FIStructE, MIEAust, MACI, RconEI, member of the National Standards Authority of Ireland’s Concrete and Eurocodes Consultative Committees and the chair of their Masonry Panel and Eurocodes Masonry Subcommittee,

- Mr. Frank Lee, BE, CEng, FIEI, FConsEI, nominated by the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland, and

- Mr. Dave Blaney, PGeo, and Board member of the Institute of Geologists of Ireland.

Now that the members are in place, arrangements have been made for the expert panel to hold their first meeting this week .It is anticipated that their investigations will take in the order of six months to complete and I look forward to reading a copy of their report on completion of their research later this year.

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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768. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce a handbook or an electronic information pack to be provided to applicants by the planning authorities upon receipt of a planning application for a single dwelling or domestic extension, detailing the minimum requirements which home owners must meet to build in accordance with the building control regulations; his views of the benefit of such a publication in providing guidance to home owners and in clarifying the minimum qualifications and level of accreditation which must legally be held by the relevant professionals employed for the certifying of all building works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6462/16]

Photo of Paudie CoffeyPaudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The owner of a planned new single dwelling or domestic extension has a statutory obligation to ensure that the building or works are designed and constructed in accordance with the relevant requirements of the Building Regulations which are made pursuant to the Building Control Act 1990. The performance requirements are set out in 12 parts (classified as Parts A to M) and eachPart deals with a specific area of performance that is critical to the safety and welfare of persons in and about the building.Part A , for instance, addresses structure, Part B addresses Fire Safety, etc. Detailed Technical Guidance documents are published by my Department outlining how the requirements of each of the twelve Parts (A to M) of the Building Regulations can be achieved in practice. This guidance is available on my Department’s website by clicking on the following weblink –

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Owners, builders and construction professionals are also required to demonstrate publicly through the statutory public register maintained by their local Building Control Authority (the Authority) that they have fulfilled their statutory obligations in relation to their building project. This process involves a set of administrative procedures set out under the Building Control Regulations which are also made pursuant to the Act of 1990. These procedures include notification to the Authority prior to the commencement of works, the appointment of competent persons to build, inspect and certify the works, the lodgement of drawings and particulars demonstrating how the particular building or works has achieved compliance and the registration of notices and certificates by the Authority on the statutory register of building control activity.

Statutory certificates of compliance, where relevant, must be given at commencement (design only) and completion and must be signed by a registered construction profession (i.e. an Architect or a Building Surveyor or a chartered Engineer who is included on a statutory register maintained respectively by the Royal Institution of Architects of Ireland, the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland or Engineers Ireland). The statutory certificate of compliance on completion must also be signed by the Builder. A home-owner may nominate themselves as builder where they are satisfied that they are competent to carry out the works they propose to undertake.

Following a review last year, the Building Control Regulations were revised to give the owner of a proposed single dwelling or domestic extension the facility to opt out of the requirement for statutory certification concerning their proposed dwelling or extension. An Information Note for Owners of new dwellings and extensions who opt out of Statutory Certification for building control purposes is availableon my Department’s website at:

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This guidance explains the building control process in detail from the perspective of the owner.

My Department continues to review and update the guidance available in this critical area of public policy in consultation with, and in response to the needs of, all stakeholders, including prospective homeowners.

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