Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy and his department have defended moves to “lower” minimum standards for new apartments, despite widespread concerns being expressed.

The latest Rebuilding Ireland progress report shows 454 social homes have been built in the first six months of this year.

We are at risk of repeating the mistakes made with Ballymun if we do not maintain building restrictions.

Good news in the construction industry? Central Statistics Office figures indicate an increased number of smaller residential extensions. But the number of commencement notices lodged in local authorities continues to be depressed, now at 30% below 2013 levels, a historic low.

Because of the consultants’ fees of €50m, the local property tax, which was supposed to fund local authorities, now will have to capitalise Irish Water.

What are the real costs for a properly resourced Local Authority building control inspectorate? Let’s look at the cost of a straightforward system like the successful one operating in the UK.

The changes in March to the building regulations (S.I. No. 80 of 2013 BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2013) will have big repercussions for residential self-builders. Nearly 60% of houses constructed in Ireland are self-builds (source NaSBA).

There has been a lot of talk recently about the need for regulation in the charity sector.