John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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657. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to ensure that builders of substandard developments such as a development (details supplied) with fire safety standards that appear not to have been reached, cannot easily construct such developments again in the future; if planning applications are monitored; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31088/17]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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658. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on the statement recently by an organisation (details supplied) that has indicated that there should be a redress scheme put in place for the owners of apartments in developments, such as a development (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31089/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 657 and 658 together.

Under the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014, primary responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations rests with the owners, designers and builders 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 under the Acts. Neither I nor my Department has any direct role in relation to enforcement matters and cannot interfere in individual cases.

In general, building defects are matters for resolution between the contracting parties involved: the homeowner, the builder, the developer and/or their respective insurers, structural guarantee or warranty scheme. It is important to note that while my Department has overall responsibility for establishing and maintaining an effective regulatory framework for building standards and building control it has no general statutory role in resolving defects in privately owned buildings, including residential apartments, nor does it have a budget for such matters.

In response to the many building failures that have emerged over the past decade, my Department introduced the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 9 of 2014), 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.

A Certificate of Compliance on Completion is jointly signed by the builder and the assigned certifier. This must be accompanied by plans and documentation to show how the constructed building complies with the building regulations and also the inspection plan, as implemented.

At the end of May 2017, the Government approved the draft heads of a Bill to place the Construction Industry Register Ireland (CIRI) on a statutory footing and this Bill has now been referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government for pre-legislative scrutiny.  Once it is enacted the Bill will provide consumers who engage a registered builder the assurance that they are dealing with a competent and compliant operator and will complement the reforms which have been made through the Building Control Amendment Regulations and contribute to the development of a culture of competence and compliance in the construction sector.