Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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360. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the way in which companies seeking to provide fit-for-purpose accommodation units for disabled and elderly communities can receive departmental approval in order to be engaged by local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51932/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Building Regulations set out the minimum requirements for the construction of new buildings and certain works to existing buildings. The primary responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations rests with the designers, builders and owners of buildings. My Department has no function in assessing whether any particular proposal complies with the Building Regulations. Enforcement of the Building Regulations is delegated under the Building Control Act 1990 – 2020 to the local building control authorities (i.e. the 31 local authorities) who are independent in the exercise of their statutory powers.

Separately, 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 Building Regulations and with the terms of the certificate.

The NSAI is a statutory body under the aegis of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and, as such, further detail on the Agrément certification is a matter for the NSAI and its parent Department.

My Department provides funding to local authorities for the Housing Adaptation Grant for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme, in respect of private houses. The detailed administration of the grants, including the assessment, approval and payment of individual grants to applicants, is the responsibility of the relevant local authority.

These grant schemes assist in the carrying out of works to make accommodation more suitable for the needs of older and disabled people, the types of works included are access ramps, adaptations to facilitate wheelchair access, etc. The grant schemes also contribute towards other works that are reasonably necessary for the purposes of rendering a house more suitable for the accommodation of a person with a disability or addressing their mobility needs which may include the provision of an extension.

Further details on these schemes is available at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/service/6636c-housing-adaptation-grants-for-older-people-and-people-with-a-disability/.