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Building Standards

Building Control Act 2007
Building Control Regulations 1997 - 2009
Building Regulations 1997 - 2009
Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEc) (CPD)

Building Control Act 2007

The Building Control Act 2007 passed both Houses of the Oireachtas and signed by the President on 21 April 2007. Please find the link to the text of the passed Act in the Publications box on the right.

The building control system is centred on the parent Act, the Building Control Act, 1990, which falls into 3 principal categories.

  • Provides for the making Building Regulations -deals with issues such as building standards, workmanship, conservation of fuel and energy and access for people with disabilities.
  • Provides for making of Building Control Regulations - Commencement Notices, Fire Safety Certificates and Fees- Administration by Building Control Authorities.
  • Gives powers of enforcement and inspection.

The Act, which comprises 7 Parts and 73 Sections, was signed by the President on 21 April, 2007.

In summary, The Act provides for the following.

1. Strenghtening of Enforcement Powers of Local Building Control Authorities,

  • The Act amends the Buidling Control Act 1990 by introducing revised procedures for issue of Fire Safety Certificate by local Building Control Authority. It also introduces a Disability Access Certificate (DAC) to be issued by local Building Control Authorities for new Non-Domestic Buildings and Apartments.
  • The Act widens the right of building control authorities to seek an Order from the High Court or the Circuit Court to stop work on certain buildings. It introduces the option for authorities to bring summary prosecutions for all building code offrnces in the District Court and it also increases the maximum penalties for breaches of the national Building Regulations.

2. Registration of titles of certain Building Professions.

  • The Act provides for registration of the titles of “Architect”, “Quantity Surveyor” and “ Building Surveyor”. The registration scheme will be administered by the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland and the Society of Chartered Surveyors.

3. Legal Transposition of relevant parts of EU Mutal Recognition of ProfessionalQualifications Directive (2005/36/EC of September 2005).

  • The Act takes account of the adopted  EU Directive 2005/36/EC of 7 September 2005 on Mutal Recogntion of Professional Qualifications.

Building Control Act 2007 (pdf, 1,401kb)


Building Control Regulations 1997 - 2009

The 1991 Regulations first came into force on 1 June, 1992 and were superseded by the 1997 Regulations on 1July 1998.  They apply to new buildings, extensions, material alterations and changes of use of buildings. Their purpose is to promote observance of the Regulations by supplementing the basic powers of inspection and enforcement given to Building Control Authorities by different sections of the Building Control Act, 1990.  

The Building Control Regulations do so in 2 ways

  • By requiring commencement notice of works (change of use) to be lodged with a fee, and
  • Requiring a Fire Safety Certificate for most buildings, with the exception of houses and individual apartments.  The construction of an apartment block is subject to the requirement - to ensure safety of persons in the building. They also detail exemptions to the regulations -not to the technical requirements of the Building Regulations.

S.I No 352 of 2009 (pdf, 98kb)
S.I No 351 of 2009 (pdf, 223kb)
S.I No 85 of 2004  (doc, 37kb)
S.I No 10 of 2000 (doc,41kb)
S.I No 496 of 1997 (pdf,379 kb)


Building Regulations 1997 - 2009

The primary purpose of the Building Regulations is to provide for the health, safety and welfare of people in and around buildings.  In general, the Building Regulations 1997 - 2002 apply to the construction of new buildings and to extensions and material alterations to existing buildings and to certain changes of use of existing buildings.  These Regulations apply to all types of construction.

The Building Regulations are couched in broad functional requirements, or general statements of intent of the relevant regulation.  For instance, the Regulations governing Access and Use of a building in Part M is stated as:"Adequate provision shall be made to enable people with disabilities to safely and independently access and use a building". Technical Guidance Documents A to M give guidance on how to comply with the Regulations.  The 1991 Regulations first came into force on 1 July 1992 and were superseded by the 1997 Regulations with effect from 1 July, 1998.  They apply to new buildings, extensions and material alterations to buildings.  

Certain parts of the regulations (listed A to L) apply to material change of use of a building.  The second schedule lists the various parts (A to M) and the regulations within each part. The third schedule lists the types of buildings that are exempted from the Building Regulations.

SI 566 of 2009 Building Regulations (Part F Amendment) Regulations 2009 (pdf, 102kb)
SI 259 of 2008 Building Regulations (Part L Amendment) Regulations 2008 (pdf, 110kb)
SI 229 of 2008 European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (pdf, 945kb)
SI 854 of 2007 (Part L) (pdf, 106kb)
SI 666 of 2006 (European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations (doc, 1.8mb)
SI 872 of 2005 (European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations) (doc, 29kb)
S.I. No. 284 of 2002 (Part - L) (doc, 33kb)  & S.I. No. 581 of 2002 (Part - F) (doc, 30kb)
S.I. No. 441 of 2000 (Class 9 exemption extension) (doc, 26kb)
S.I. No. 249 of  2000 (Part - D) (doc, 24kb)
Amending Regulations:- S.I. No. 179 of 2000  (Part - M)
 S.I. No. 497 of 1997

Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC) (CPD)

The CPD is one of the Internal Market's Directives. Its primary objective is to facilitate the free movement of construction products between Member States. Member States must ensure that such products may only be placed on the market if they are fit for their intended use. Further information can be obtained from the following web-site.http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/construction/index.htm

European Communities Regulations 1992   (S.I. No. 198 of 1992) and European Communities Regulations 1994  (S.I. No. 210 of 1994) implemented the CPD in Ireland. The Department contributes directly or indirectly to the development of  European standards for -

  • construction products - under the Construction Products Directive [CPD] through the EU Standing Committee on Construction; and          
  •  structural design - Eurocodes being developed by the European Standards Committee [CEN].

The EU is developing harmonised standards for construction products and a number of new European Standards have already been made, for example, 

  •  I.S. EN.1457 for Chimney Flue Linings and Flue Terminals, this now replaces  the reference to I.S. 51:1983 called up in Technical Guidance Document J (Heat Producing Appliances) and 
  •  I.S. EN 197 (Parts 1 and 2) for Cement, this now replaces the references to  I.S. 1:1991 in Technical Guidance Documents A ( Structures) and C (Site Preparation and Resistance to Moisture).

A list of new harmonised products standards together with withdrawn Irish Standards can be found on the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) web-site at www.nsai.ie:

The publication Marking Of Construction Products: (PDF, 89KB) seeks to explain in as simple terms as possible the requirements for the affixing of the CE Marking to construction products.

All the publications cited for sale above can be purchased from: Government Publication Sales Office,Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2Ireland (Tel No:353-1-6476000)FAX: 353-1-6476843) A boxed set of the Technical Guidance Documents, (price €74.14 including postage) is available from Government Publications Office. Individual copies are also available. Free publications and Forum for the Construction Industry (FCI) publications can be obtained from: Construction Section, Dept. of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government,Custom House,Dublin 1, Ireland.

Tel: 353-1-8882551
Fax: 353-1-8882693

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