Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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245. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the inspections each local authority carried out on building sites, specifying the type of site in each case, in each of the years 2011 to 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15572/16]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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246. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he is satisfied with the system of inspecting building sites; the percentage of buildings sites that were inspected and that were not inspected in each of the years 2011 to 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15573/16]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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248. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the resources and number of personnel who are tasked with inspecting building sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15575/16]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 245, 246 and 248 together.

Local authorities, as building control authorities, have strong powers of inspection and enforcement under the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014. In relation to the Deputy’s request for data regarding inspections, I have no role or function in relation to the inspection of building sites or the assignment of personnel for the inspection of building sites. These are matters for local authorities, who are independent in the use of their statutory powers. The Local Government Management Agency collected data on inspections carried out on buildings and published it in the Service Indicators in Local Authorities reports from 2005 to 2013. These reports are available at .

Following the commencement of the Local Government Reform Act 2014, the National Oversight & Audit Commission (NOAC) now collect and publish this data. The Performance Indicators in Local Authorities 2014 report is available at .

I can advise the Deputy that in tandem with the commencement of the , the online Building Control Management System (BCMS) was developed to provide a common platform for the clear and consistent administration of building control matters across the local authority sector. Its purpose is to facilitate building control authorities, building owners, builders and construction professionals in discharging their separate responsibilities under the Building Control Acts. Oversight of construction activity by local building control authorities has now improved immeasurably with the availability and ready access to detailed data on projects via the online BCMS.

In addition, A Framework for Building Control Authoritieswas adopted by the City and County Management Association in July 2014 in order to standardise work practices, systems, procedures and decision-making in relation to the oversight of building control activity across the local authority sector, to enhance consistency of approach nationally, and to move towards a risk-based approach to inspections by building control authorities. Standardised inspection templates have also been developed under this process.

These key reforms to the building control framework represent 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 now and into the future. Nevertheless, my Department will continue to work closely with local authorities, industry stakeholders and members of the public generally to ensure that all concerned understand their obligations under the Building Regulations.