Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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631. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason the Irish Agrément Certificate 04/0198 which was issued initially in 2004 and updated in 2007 with respect to the construction of medium rise timber frame homes has not been updated since; if his attention has been drawn to the requirement for agrément certificates to be reviewed every five years; and if he will request a review of this certificate to be carried out in view of the serious fire safety defects discovered in several medium rise timber frame developments since 2007. [49154/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The process of Agrément certification applies to those products and processes which do not fall within the scope of existing construction standards, either because they are innovative or because they deviate from established norms. The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) Agrément assesses, specifies testing, and where appropriate, issues Agrément certificates confirming that new building products, materials, techniques and equipment are safe and fit for purpose in accordance with the Irish Building Regulations and with the terms of the certificate.

The NSAI is an autonomous body under the aegis of the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation. I understand that the issue raised in relation to Irish Agrément Certificate 04/0198 has been brought to the attention of the NSAI.

It is important to note that in accordance with the recommendations of the , a standard in relation to timber frame construction was developed subsequent to the provision of the Agrément Certificate in question. Irish Standard 440: 2009/A1:2014 Timber Frame Construction, Dwellings and other Buildings (I.S. 440) specifies requirements for materials, design, manufacture, construction details, site work and quality control for platform timber frame construction. It requires that the responsibilities for the tasks involved in the planning, structural design, site erection and inspection be agreed and recorded prior to the commencement of each project. I.S. 440 also gives specific details relating to fire; including the construction of separating walls, horizontal and vertical fire stopping, cavity barriers and detailed fire stopping junctions for walls and floors and service penetrations. Manufacturers of timber frame buildings are assessed under an approval scheme operated by NSAI for compliance with I.S. 440 requirements including Factory Production Control (FPC) and a register of compliant manufacturers is available on the NSAI website at .