The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has said that it will be “strongly defending” its position in response to a European Commission infringement procedure on the regulation of construction products.
The commission recently announced that it will begin the procedure against Ireland for not carrying out market surveillance on construction products, saying “several thousand houses in Ireland suffered very serious damage” as a result of defective products.
Under the EU Construction Products Regulation, authorities must monitor the manufacturing of construction products, and their placement on the market, before they are used.
According to the commission, Irish authorities limited their monitoring activities to finished buildings or finalised civil engineering projects.
“The limitation of market surveillance activities to on-site measures endangers the free circulation of safe construction products in the [EU]. Due to defective construction products, several thousand houses in Ireland suffered very serious damage,” the commission said.
The commission has sent a letter of formal notice to Ireland, which now has two months to respond and address “the shortcomings raised”.
“In the absence of a satisfactory response, the commission may decide to issues a reasoned opinion,” the commission said. This is the next step in the infringement procedure, with the next step after that (if the issues are still not resolved after the recent opinion) being referral to the Courts of Justice of the EU.
The Department of Housing strongly rejected the commission’s claims.
In a statement to Agriland, the department said that it will be “strongly defending its position in its response to the commission”.
The department said that it is “actively undertaking market surveillance of construction products in compliance with EU legislation”.
According to the department, the National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office, as well as local authorities, act as market surveillance authorities and have the power to obtain access to premises to examine, test, or inspect products; request documentation on a product’s performance; and take samples.
These authorities can also request the Minister of Housing to restrict the use of a product and prosecute offenders.
“It should be noted that the government, in response to building defects that have arisen, continues to implement building control reforms which focus on ensuring strong and effective regulation in the building control system and the construction industry,” the department’s statement said.
The department also said that government legislation in 2022 was passed “to develop and promote a culture of competence, good practice and compliance with the building regulations in the construction sector”.
The department also drew attention to a cabinet agreement last month to drafting legislation which will see the formation of a new Building Standards Regulatory Authority.