Disability access issues discussed at the Irish Building Control Institute Conference
The Irish Building Control Institute recently held its annual two day conference on the 24th & 25th of March 2010. The conference covered a wide range of Building Control issues including Building Sustainable Developments, Fire Design, The Building Control Act and New Fire Safety Certificates and Disability Access Certificates. O’Herlihy Access Consultancy presented on the area of Disability Awareness Training and highlighted the importance of understanding user needs of buildings and the importance of designing buildings to suit the needs of all users regardless of abilities.
Some of the main outcomes of the conference included:
- Disability Access Certificates: The DEHLG confirmed that a Disability Access Certificate (DAC) is not required before commencement of works, but the Department are advising that one should apply for a DAC when applying for a Fire Safety Certificate.
- Part M: The final report on the consultation process of Part M will be presented to the Building Regulations Advisory Board on 31st March 2010 and the New Part M/Technical Guidance Document M will be published in mid 2010.
- FAQs on DACs: The DEHLG highlighted that they hope to publish a series of Frequently Asked Questions on their website within the next few weeks to deal with some of the main queries on DACs.
- Technical Guidance Document B on Schools: The DEHLG hopes to publish a new Technical Guidance Document on Schools in 2010.
- Additional Support and Guidance: Discussions took place at the conference on the lack of consistency in relation to reviewing Disability Access Certificates and the need for additional support, training and guidance to be provided. One way forward suggested was the formation of a multidisciplinary Access Panel to provide support, evaluation and feedback.
