Public Consultation on the Review of Part B (Fire Safety) of the Building Regulations

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, TD, invites submissions, observations and comments on a proposed amendment to the Building Regulations Part B (Fire Safety) for buildings other than dwelling houses.

A review of Technical Guidance Document B is required due to:

• changes in the design and construction of buildings, with taller and larger, more complex layouts
• the use of new and innovative building systems and materials
• changes in the provision of heating, ventilation, and access for the health and safety of occupants
• improvements in energy performance.

In addition, Housing for All includes the review of the building regulations as a key action (action 25.6) to drive compliance and standards through regulatory reform (policy objective 25).

Under the building regulations, fire safety is dealt with under Part B of the second schedule and the associated Technical Guidance Document B (TGD B).

The review has also taken into account:

• common and emerging building trends
• developments and events from a global perspective
• matters relating to external fire spread
• external fire resistance
• internal fire resistance
• cladding systems
• sprinklers
• the review into the Grenfell fire.

The public consultation will run for 3 months.

General submissions and comments

General submissions and comments on the review should be sent by email to partbconsultation@housing.gov.ie

Technical submissions and comments

Submissions and comments relating to specific technical matters or relating to the proposed revisions to Technical Guidance Document B (Fire Safety)* should be submitted on the Template for Submissions only and sent by email to partbconsultation@housing.gov.ie

The closing date for the receipt of submissions and comments is no later than 21 April, 2023.

All submissions and comments submitted to the Department for this purpose are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2014, and the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007- 2014, and Data Protection legislation.

Personal, confidential or commercially sensitive information should not be included in your submission and it will be presumed that all information contained in your submission is releasable under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

Please note that the Department may publish a summary of the responses received.

A privacy statement relating to any personal data that may be provided is available for download under the Documents link above.