Asbestos Regulations Ireland 2026: What Changed & What to Do

Who regulates asbestos in Ireland

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is the national body responsible for asbestos regulation enforcement. The HSA issues permits, conducts inspections, and prosecutes breaches. Other agencies with related responsibilities:

EPA: regulates waste disposal facilities and licenses hazardous waste sites.
National Waste Collection Permit Office: permits for waste collection and transport. How that works in practice is covered in the disposal guide.
National TFS Office (at Dublin City Council): handles cross-border waste shipment notifications.
Local Authorities: building control, planning, and some waste management.

For Northern Ireland, the equivalent regulator is HSENI under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. The two systems are separate; an HSENI licence does not automatically apply in the Republic.

The six changes in S.I. No. 632/2025

1. Notification → permit system

Previously, employers notified the HSA before asbestos work and the work could proceed. From 21 December 2025, a mandatory permit must be obtained from the HSA before any notifiable asbestos work can begin. Notification must be submitted at least 10 days in advance via the HSA Notification Form (emailed to [email protected]) with a Plan of Work, site-specific Risk Assessment, and training records. The HSA can agree in writing to a shorter period. The HSA issues a unique permit number, which must be received before work begins. HSA guidance says the number should be available on site for inspection. A public register is maintained.

What changed in practice: notifiable work now requires regulatory sign-off before it starts. Beginning notifiable work before the permit number is received is a criminal offence.

2. Occupational exposure limit cut tenfold

The occupational exposure limit (OEL) has been reduced to 0.01 fibres/cm³, a tenfold reduction from the previous limit. Effective from 21 December 2025. By 2029, electron microscopy will replace phase-contrast microscopy for fibre detection.

What changed in practice: employers must plan controls and occupational air monitoring around a much lower eight-hour limit. Exposure should still be kept well below that limit and as low as technically possible.

3. Removal prioritised over manage-in-place

When an employer assesses asbestos work, removal must be prioritised over other forms of handling. Separately, before demolition or major refurbishment, asbestos must be removed so far as reasonably practicable, except where removal would create a greater risk than leaving it in place.

What changed in practice: a contractor's risk assessment cannot treat encapsulation or working around asbestos as the automatic first option. This does not require intact asbestos elsewhere in a property to be removed.

4. Stronger pre-work information and survey duties

Before an employer starts demolition, maintenance or renovation work in premises built before 31 December 2004, they must establish whether asbestos is present. If adequate information is unavailable, the employer must arrange a suitable survey by a competent person. Where doubt remains, the material must be treated as asbestos.

What this means in practice: the assessment and any survey should be proportionate to the work. A targeted inspection may suit limited maintenance; intrusive refurbishment or demolition normally needs a survey scoped to everything the work will disturb.

5. Broader risk assessment, including passive exposure

Risk assessments must now explicitly consider all activities where asbestos exposure may occur, including secondary and passive exposure: building occupants, maintenance teams, cleaning staff, and anyone affected by vibration, deterioration or nearby works. Duty-holders must identify who may be exposed, assess the nature, degree and duration, and reduce exposure to the lowest technically possible level.

What changed in practice: risk assessments must consider third parties (neighbours, passing trades, building users), not only operatives. This affects containment design and notification of nearby occupants.

6. Expanded medical surveillance

Where asbestos exposure is possible, employers must now provide health assessments, a responsible medical practitioner, individual medical records, and an occupational health register kept for up to 40 years. These are employer duties triggered by the risk of occupational exposure; they are not medical-surveillance duties placed on private homeowners.

What changed in practice: medical surveillance is no longer confined to dedicated removal operatives. Anyone who may be exposed during maintenance, refurbishment or general building work needs surveillance.

What this means for homeowners

For most homeowners, the practical effects of the 2025 changes are:

A contractor doing notifiable work on your property must have the HSA permit number issued for that job. Ask for it before work starts.
Before a contractor starts relevant work in premises built before 31 December 2004, they must establish whether asbestos is present and arrange a suitable survey if adequate information is unavailable.
Outside of notifiable work, if you just want to confirm one suspect material, a DIY asbestos test kit is often enough; a full survey isn't always required. See our testing guide.
For work that may disturb asbestos, the contractor's risk assessment must prioritise removal; intact material outside the work can still be managed in place.
The new 0.01 f/cm³ limit is an occupational exposure limit for workers, not a general indoor-air safety threshold.
Disposal must go through a permitted waste collector to an authorised facility: no shortcuts via skips, civic amenity sites, or self-transport.

The six things that changed in 2025: a summary of S.I. 632/2025.
How the HSA permit system works: what to ask a contractor and how to verify a permit.
When was asbestos banned in Ireland? (the 2000 ban explained).
Selling a house with asbestos: disclosure rules for private sellers and estate agents.

Sources

This page is based on the following primary sources, checked July 2026:

Frequently asked questions

What is S.I. No. 632/2025?

S.I. No. 632/2025, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, was signed into Irish law in December 2025 and amends the 2006 asbestos regulations. The combined regulations are cited as the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations 2006–2025. The amendments introduced job-specific permit numbers for notifiable work, cut the occupational exposure limit tenfold, strengthened pre-work information and survey duties, prioritised removal in employers' risk assessments, and revised health-surveillance duties.

What does the new HSA permit system mean for me?

If you are a homeowner, the practical change is that a contractor doing notifiable asbestos work on your property must obtain the HSA permit number specific to that job before starting. From December 2025 it is a criminal offence to begin notifiable asbestos work before that permit number has been received. You can ask for the number; a public register is maintained by the HSA. If you are a contractor, the change is more substantial. See the permit guide.

What is the new asbestos exposure limit?

The occupational exposure limit value (OELV) for airborne asbestos fibres in workplace air was reduced to 0.01 fibres per cubic centimetre on 21 December 2025, one tenth of the previous 0.1 f/cm³ limit. It is an eight-hour time-weighted occupational limit, not a statement that exposure below it is safe; the HSA says exposure should be kept well below the limit and as low as technically possible.

Does the law require asbestos removal now, instead of leaving it in place?

Not in every property. When an employer assesses work that may expose workers to asbestos, the regulations require removal to be prioritised over other forms of handling. Separately, before demolition or major refurbishment, asbestos must be removed so far as reasonably practicable, except where removal would create a greater risk than leaving it in place. Intact material outside the work area can still be managed in place; the rule is not a blanket removal duty on homeowners.

What are the penalties for non-compliance?

Penalties for breaches of the Irish asbestos regulations sit within the wider penalty regime of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Significant fines and the possibility of imprisonment apply, depending on whether the offence is prosecuted summarily or on indictment. The HSA also has the power to issue improvement notices and prohibition notices for less serious breaches. For unauthorised waste disposal, the penalty regime sits under the Waste Management Acts, with substantial fines available on indictment. The 2025 amendments do not change the penalty regime, but they do make more activity notifiable and therefore more visible to the regulator.