Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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252. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the formal powers, as defined in legislation or regulations, an assigned certifier has to enter a site, inspect the works, inspect materials, take samples and do tests if they see fit. [22041/17]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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253. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the statutory duties an assigned certifier has to enforce or report suspect practices to a local authority; and the statutory powers an assigned certifier has to stop construction works, instigate enforcement proceedings and direct the builder or their agent to cease works. [22042/17]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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254. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if it is legally permissible for a builder to enter into a contract with an assigned certifier which states that the certifier may not stop construction works for whatever reasons under the terms of their appointment. [22043/17]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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255. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on whether under the current building control system there are incentives for an assigned certifier not to instigate enforcement proceedings or to direct a builder or their agents to cease works if they suspect breaches of building control regulations for fear of reputational damage or risks to future business on behalf of an assigned certifier. [22044/17]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 252 to 255, inclusive, together.

Under the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014, primary responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations rests with the designers, builders and owners of buildings.  Enforcement of the Building Regulations is a matter for the 31 local building control authorities who have extensive powers of inspection and enforcement in the event of breaches of the Building Control Regulations.

In response to the many building failures that have emerged in the past decade, my Department introduced the , which require greater accountability in relation to compliance with Building Regulations in the form of statutory certification of design and construction by registered construction professionals and builders, lodgement of compliance documentation, mandatory inspections during construction and validation and registration of certificates.

Under the 2014 Regulations, owners are required to appoint an Assigned Certifier whose role, in conjunction with the builder and the project team, is to draw up and execute an appropriate inspection plan and to certify the building’s compliance with Building Regulations on completion.  The Assigned Certifier undertakes to inspect, and to co-ordinate the inspection activities of others, during construction, and to certify the building or works on completion. The role of Assigned Certifier does not include responsibility for the supervision of any builder.  Builders undertake to cooperate with the Assigned Certifier’s inspection plans and to jointly certify the building or works on completion. In effect, the statutory Certificate of Compliance on Completion certifies that a building is compliant with all relevant requirements of the Building Regulations.

Article 20G of the Building Control Regulations provides for a more detailed outline of the roles and responsibilities of the key personnel, including owners, designers, assigned certifiers and builders, through a code of practice known as the Code of Practice for Inspecting and Certifying  Buildings and Works. That Code was produced in late 2014 and revised last year and is available on my Department's website at: .

The purpose of the Code of Practice is to provide guidance with respect to inspecting and certifying works or a building for compliance with the requirements of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations. 

Where works or a building to which the Building Control Regulations apply are inspected and certified in accordance with the guidance contained in this Code of Practice, this shall, prima facie, indicate compliance with the relevant requirements of the Building Control Regulations.