DAC Certs

Disability Access Certificates ( DAC Certs) are on the way as of 1 January 2010, which is not to far away now. Their introductaion is as a result of IS 351 of 2009 BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2009.

 Their introduction will bring some teething problems no doubt like:

• Whom in Building Control is going to access them...... the Fire Officers have said they won't.
• Will Building Control Authorities be satisfied with demonstrating Compliance with the current Part M or will they be looking one to demonstrate compliance with another document eg NDA's publication  Buildings for Everyone
• What level of detail will they require, will full construction drawings be required or will documentation similar to the level of detail in a Fire Safety Certificate Application be sufficient?

The application fee won't sit well with persons whom require to make a DAC Cert application, in that it is €800 irrespective of size of project.

One has to ask the question it it now time that each element of the building regulations should be accessed by building control authorty in a single application,  like what happens in the UK?