Control of building standards

Galway County Council is a building control authority under the Building Control Act 1990 and as such has powers in relation to securing compliance with building regulations. The purpose of the regulations is to promote good practice in the design and construction of buildings in the interests of the health, safety and welfare of persons who use them.

To promote the observance of the building regulations, the Council has powers:

to inspect buildings and the plans thereof,
to enforce the Building Regulations by service of notice,
to obtain a High Court Order in urgent cases,
to prosecute offenders.

The Building Control Regulations impose the following two important requirements on persons carrying out construction work.

A Commencement Notice must be submitted to the building control authority (i.e. Galway County Council) not more than 21 days and not less than 7 days before the commencement of works. Commencement Notice forms are issued when issuing planning permission and can also be obtained from the Planning Office. A fee of € 30 will be required with each Commencement Notice.
Form of Commencement Notice of Development & Explanatory Notes
A Fire Safety Certificate must be obtained from the building control authority before work is commenced for all buildings with the exception of a dwelling house or agricultural buildings.

Application forms for fire safety certificates together with full details of the documents and plans which must accompany the application are available from the Planning Office and should be submitted together with the required plans, details and the appropriate fee. Normally the certificate will issue within two months of the date of application but this period may be extended by written agreement between the applicant and the building control authority. The certificate may be issued with or without conditions or may be refused.

An applicant can appeal against a refusal to An Bord Pleanala. There are heavy penalties, including fines and imprisonment for breaches of the regulations and difficulties can arise in the sale of property if it cannot be established that the requirements of the regulations have been met. There is also a provision under the Building Control Act 1990 for the dispensation or relaxation of the requirements of the building regulations in certain circumstances.