Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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121. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his proposals to introduce improvements (details supplied) to building standards and if he will consider recommending these to the National Standards Authority of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19936/16]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The Building Regulations 1997 to 2014 set out the minimum statutory requirements applicable to the design and construction of new buildings, extensions to existing buildings as well as for material alterations and certain material changes of use to existing buildings and are divided in 12 parts (classified as Parts A to M). Technical Guidance Documents (TGDs) are published to accompany each of the parts and provide guidance indicating how the requirements of that part can be achieved in practice. These TGDs can be accessed on my Department’s website at .

Where works are carried out in accordance with the relevant technical guidance such works are considered to be, prima facie, in compliance with the relevant regulation(s). Compliance with the Regulations is the responsibility of the owner or builder of a building or works while enforcement is a matter for the 31 local building control authorities.

Part D of the Building Regulations deals with Materials and Workmanship and stipulates that all works are to be carried out with proper materials and in a workmanlike manner. It defines proper materials as those materials which are fit for the use for which they are intended and for the conditions in which they are to be used. The regulations do not prescribe the use of particular products but establish minimum performance requirements that the building or the construction works must achieve.

Requirements relating to the supply of gas and electricity do not fall within the scope of the Building Regulations. The Electro-Technical Council of Ireland is the national body responsible for the harmonisation of standards in the electro-technical field in collaboration with the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) while the Commission for Energy Regulation regulates the activities of natural gas undertakings and natural gas installers with respect to gas safety.

My Department understands that the NSAI, which comes under the remit of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, is the lead agency in relation to the formulation of quality, design and safety standards for heating and plumbing installations and it normally advances such work through the establishment of expert industry working groups. In this context, the NSAI is currently developing a Code of Practice entitled S.R. 50 - Code of Practice for Domestic Plumbing and Heating - Design, Implementation, Commissioning & Maintenance which will provide best practice guidance for use by the trade, by drawing together the references to relevant standards with useful explanations in an easily readable form. It is anticipated that the Code of Practice will be ready for public consultation later this year. When the Code of Practice is finalised my Department will be in a position to consider whether and in what circumstances it might be appropriately referenced in regulations or statutory guidance.

Parts G (Hygiene) and L (Conservation of Fuel and Energy) of the Building Regulations already set out specific requirements for the insulation of cold and hot water pipework within buildings in order to protect against freezing. Typically, it is recommended that insulation materials should have low water absorption, be frost resistant and should maintain performance in damp conditions over the long term. Furthermore, the Building Regulations do not prevent any organisation from undertaking a thermal imaging analysis of a building; this is a matter that is entirely at the discretion of the building owner in the context of identifying measures to improve the energy efficiency of the building.

In accordance with the Programme for a Partnership Government, my Department is preparing an Action Plan for Housing with a view to identifying any reasonable and appropriate measures that may be taken in the interests of reducing construction overheads in order to facilitate an increased level of housing output into the future.