Ireland's New Fire Safety Regulations - What Changed in 2025

Editorial note: this article was reviewed and corrected on 3 July 2026 against the published instruments, S.I. No. 108 of 2024 and S.I. No. 56 of 2025. Figures that could not be verified against the legislation have been removed.

Two instruments, one commencement date

Ireland's fire safety framework changed on 1 May 2025. Two instruments took effect together. The Building Regulations (Part B Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. No. 108 of 2024) revised the fire safety requirements of the Building Regulations. The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (S.I. No. 56 of 2025) aligned the building control system with them. Fire engineers and competent persons should read both instruments, with the current technical guidance to Part B, before advising on affected works.

Fire Safety Certificates: a wider net

The 2025 Regulations expand when a Fire Safety Certificate is required. A certificate is now needed for a material alteration to a storage building where the building is subdivided or floor area is added. It is also needed where a material change of use brings a building into the industrial or storage classes, whether normal hazard or high hazard. Where a material alteration to a storage building does not require a certificate, a commencement notice must be lodged instead. Disability Access Certificate requirements extend to storage buildings being subdivided or extended.

New and revised definitions

The Regulations replace the term institutional building with care facility building. The new definition covers hospitals, nursing homes, homes for older people or for children, schools and similar establishments where people sleep on the premises or receive treatment, care or support. Industrial buildings are now divided into normal hazard and high hazard classes, and storage buildings likewise. The definition of a place of assembly is revised, and the meaning of material change of use is amended. Each of these definitions affects when certificates and notices are required.

What Part B 2024 changed

The 2024 amendment updated the substance of fire safety requirements for buildings other than dwelling houses. It introduced provisions on means of alert in the case of fire, and measures to reduce the spread of fire on the external faces of buildings. It also adopted the European reaction-to-fire classification system, with transitional arrangements for works already in progress. Practitioners should confirm the applicable transition dates against the published guidance before specifying classifications on any current project.

Information for building owners

A significant new duty requires that building owners receive information on the fire safety systems installed, on completion of works. This covers matters such as detection and alarm, emergency lighting, suppression and passive fire protection. For those managing care facility buildings, this handover information should feed directly into the fire safety management programme and staff training arrangements.

What members should do

Check whether current and planned projects fall within the expanded certificate and notice requirements. Read the two instruments and the current Part B guidance rather than relying on secondary summaries, including this one. Where advising care settings, review how the care facility building definition affects the premises. Record the review as CPD. The IIESMS Fire Safety Group provides briefings and CPD events on these changes, and membership keeps practitioners connected to that programme.

References

S.I. No. 108 of 2024 — Building Regulations (Part B Amendment) Regulations 2024 · S.I. No. 56 of 2025 — Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Both available at irishstatutebook.ie. Guidance: current technical guidance to Part B of the Building Regulations, gov.ie.