S.I. No. 153/1994:

BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1994.

BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1994.

The Minister for the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 6 and 18 of the Building Control Act, 1990 (No. 3 of 1990), hereby makes the following Regulations:--

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations, 1994.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of August, 1994.

3. In these Regulations, "the Principal Regulations" means the Building Control Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 305 of 1991 ).

4. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the substitution of the following for article 3 (4)--

"(4) In these Regulations, save where the context otherwise requires--

"the Act" means the Building Control Act, 1990 ;

"agriculture" includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, the breeding and keeping of livestock (including any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land), the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, the use of land for turbary, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes;

"building control authority" means a building control authority as defined in section 2 of the Act;

"Building Regulations" means the Building Regulations, 1991;

"drainage system", in relation to a building, means the system of pipes and drains used for the drainage of the building, including all other fittings, appliances and equipment so used but excluding subsoil water drains;

"Fire safety certificate" means a certificate under section 6 (2) (a) (ii) of the Act;

"flat" means separate and self-contained premises constructed or adapted for residential use and forming part of a building from some other part of which it is divided horizontally;

"industrial building" includes a factory or other premises used for manufacturing, altering, repairing, cleaning, washing, breaking-up, adapting or processing any article, generating power or slaughtering livestock;

"institutional building" includes a hospital, nursing home, home for old people or for children, school or other similar establishment used as living accommodation or for the treatment, care or maintenance of persons suffering from illness or mental or physical disability or handicap, where such persons sleep on the premises;

"material alteration" means a material alteration under article 10 of the Building Regulations;

"material change of use" means a material change of use under article 12 of the Building Regulations;

"minor works" means works consisting of the installation, alteration or removal of a fixture or fitting, or works of a decorative nature;

"office" includes premises used for the purpose of administrative or clerical work (including writing, book keeping, sorting papers, filing, typing, duplicating, machine calculating, drawing and the editorial preparation of matter for publication, handling money (including banking and building society work) or telephone system operation);

"place of assembly" includes--

(i) a theatre, public library, hall or other building of public resort used for social or recreational purposes,

(ii) a non-residential school or other educational establishment,

(iii) a place of public worship,

(iv) a public house, restaurant or similar premises used for the sale to members of the public of food or drink for consumption on the premises,

but no building shall be treated as a place of assembly solely because it is a building to which members of the public are occasionally admitted;

"shop" includes a building used for retail or wholesale trade or business (including retail sales by auction, self-selection and over-the-counter wholesale trading, the business of lending books or periodicals for gain and the business of a barber or hairdresser) and premises to which the public is invited to deliver or to collect goods in connection with their hire, repair or other treatment, or where they themselves may carry out such repairs or other treatments; and

"shopping centre" includes a building which comprises a number of individually occupied premises to which common access is provided principally for the benefit of shoppers."

5. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the substitution of the following article for article 4--

"4. These regulations shall not apply to--

( a ) the design or construction (including material alteration or extension) of--

(i) a building which is carried out by, or on behalf of, a building control authority where the building or works is or will be situated within the functional area of the said building control authority,

(ii) a building which is being provided for, in the occupation of or belonging to the Garda Síochána or the Defence Forces,

(iii) a courthouse,

(iv) an office or other building which is being provided for, in the occupation of or belonging to Uachtarán na hÉireann, Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann, the Department of the Taoiseach, the Office of the Tánaiste, the Department of Defence, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Attorney General, the Chief State Solicitor's Office and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; or

( b ) the design or construction (including material alteration or extension) of a building or the carrying out of any works--

(i) for reasons of national security, within, or bounding, the curtilage of any building, premises or other installation occupied by, or under the control of, a State authority, other than a building referred to in paragraph (a),

(ii) by or on behalf of a State authority, for reasons of national security, within, or bounding, the curtilage of the residence of a holder, or former holder, of a public office or any other public servant or former public servant,

(iii) by or on behalf of An Garda Síochána, for security reasons, within, or bounding, the curtilage of the residence of a person in receipt of protection from An Garda Síochána, other than a person referred to in subparagraph (ii); or

( c ) the material change of use of a building referred to in paragraphs (a) or (b) provided that after such material change of use such building is still a building referred to in those paragraphs.".

6. Article 5 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution of the following sub-article for sub-article (2)--

"(2) Notwithstanding sub-article (1), the provisions of this Part shall apply to--

( a ) any building or works to which Part III applies, and

( b ) any material alteration (excluding a material alteration consisting solely of minor works) in a shop, office or industrial building to which Part III does not apply.".

7. Article 7 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution of the following sub-article for sub-article (d)--

"( d ) the name and address of the person or persons from whom such plans, documents and information, as are necessary to show that the building or works will, if built in accordance with the design, comply with the requirements of the Building Regulations, may be obtained, and".

8. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the substitution of the following article for article 8--

"8. (1) Subject to article 8A, the provisions of this Part shall apply to--

( a ) the erection of a building;

( b ) a material alteration in--

(i) a building containing a flat, or

(ii) a hotel, hostel or guest house, or

(iii) an institutional building, or

(iv) a place of assembly, or

(v) a shopping centre,

but excluding a material alteration in the aforementioned classes of buildings, consisting solely of minor works;

( c ) a material alteration in a shop, office or industrial building where--

(i) additional floor area is being provided within the existing building, or

(ii) the building is being subdivided into a number of units for separate occupancy;

( d ) the extension of a building by more than 25 square metres;

( e ) a material change of use of a building;

to which the requirements of Part B of the First Schedule to the Building Regulations apply.".

9. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the insertion of the following article after article 8--

"8A. This Part shall not apply in relation to--

( a ) a single storey building which--

(i) is a building used solely for agriculture, and

(ii) is used exclusively for the storage of materials or products, for the accommodation of plant or machinery or in connection with the housing, care or management of livestock, and

(iii) is a building wherein the only persons habitually employed are engaged solely in the care, supervision, regulation, maintenance, storage or removal of the materials, products, plant, machinery or livestock in the building,

and which is either attached to another such building or detached from any other building, or

( b ) a building (other than a flat) the proposed use of which is as a dwelling, or

( c ) any works carried out to a building in compliance with a notice served under Section 20 of the Fire Services Act 1981 (No. 30 of 1981).".

10. Article 10 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a) (ii)--

"(ii) enable the building control authority to assess, whether the said building or works would, if constructed in accordance with the said plans, calculations, specifications and other particulars, comply with the requirements of Part B of the First Schedule to the Building Regulations.".

11. The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 190 of 1993 ) are hereby revoked.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment, this 25th day of May, 1994.

MICHAEL SMITH,

Minister for the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The Regulations amend the Building Control Regulations, 1991, in relation to the design and construction of certain buildings. The regulations come into operation on the 1 August, 1994.