Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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62. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he plans to revise the SI 9 Building Control Regulations for multi-unit dwellings; his views on whether the self regulatory assigned certifier system is the safest and most cost effective building control system. [35467/16]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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A review of the (S.I. No. 9 of 2014), following its first 12 months in operation, was announced on 2 April 2015. While the review examined the impact of S.I. No. 9 of 2014 on single dwellings and domestic extensions, it was not restricted nor confined to those specific issues; it constituted a full review of the operation of the regulations, which was open to all construction professionals, industry stakeholders, local authorities and other interested parties. The scope and objectives of the review were as follows:

(a) To review the operation of S.I. No. 9 of 2014 in consultation with industry and local authority stakeholders and members of the public;

(b) To consider in particular the impact of S.I. No. 9 of 2014 on single dwellings and extensions to existing dwellings having regard to specific concerns which have been raised in relation to the cost burden of the regulations and the level of certification required for this sector;

(c) To consider more generally the impact of S.I. No. 9 of 2014 on owners, occupiers and users of buildings have regard to the statutory purposes for which building regulations may be made (i.e. public safety, accessibility, energy efficiency, efficient use of resources and good building practice);

(d) To make recommendations that will strengthen and improve the arrangements in place for the control of building activity in keeping with the principles of good and fair administration; and

(e) To report with recommendations to the Minister of State as soon as possible, but in any event no later than 30 June 2015.

A total of 171 submissions were received from private individuals, industry stakeholders and local authorities during the public consultation process. All submissions received were reviewed by my Department and a report on the consultation process was published on my Department’s website on 31 July 2015 and remains available at:

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No specific issues were raised during the consultation process in relation to the impact of S.I. No. 9 of 2014 on multi-unit developments.

I am confident that the key reforms introduced by the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 and complemented by the Building Control Management System (BCMS) represent a reasonable, cost effective and appropriate response to the many building failures that occurred in the past decade and will lead to improved quality within the construction sector in the future.