Louth bottom of the league for building inspections according to report

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

Louth recorded one of the lowest inspection rates for certifying new buildings and building works across the country, according to the NOAC Local Authority Performance Indicator 2024.

The 4.02% rate in Louth was highlighted by NOAC (National Oversight and Audit Commission) as bottom of the league of councils surveyed.

The NOAC report indicated that Louth was one of seven local authorities that did not meet the minimum 12-15% inspection requirements set out in the Code of Practice for inspecting and certifying buildings and works.

The commission advised that these inspections are “vital to ensure buildings are constructed in line with legislation.”

Louth Councillor, Marianne Butler, raised the findings at the October meeting of Louth County Council.

“One area of concern is our building inspection rate, we were bottom of the country for inspections,” said Cllr. Butler.

She said the rate, was “very low” adding “we know the amount of building that is going on across the county, and we need to improve on that figure.”

Cllr. Butler said: “I think it was incredibly low last year, and we are at the very bottom of the table.”

She added: “The consequences of that really do need to be addressed.”

Deputy Chief Executive, Thomas McEvoy, admitted “Yes, it is a very low rate.”

He said commencements had gone up substantially in 2023, increasing by almost three fold.

“As an absolute number, the number of inspections will remain the same but as percentage of a much higher denominator, the percentage rate dropped.”

He said that the rate should be an average of 10 to 12%, but was affected by the high volume of new builds commencing.

The local authority were also “transitioning staff in that section, and we are now fully resourced,” said Mr. McEvoy.