Major Changes to Ireland’s Asbestos Regulations in 2025 — What Every Duty-Holder Needs to Know

12 Jan 2026

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Major Changes to Ireland’s Asbestos Regulations in 2025 — What Every Duty-Holder Needs to Know

Ireland’s asbestos regulatory framework has undergone its most significant overhaul in nearly two decades.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations 2006–2025, together with new EU-level guidance and the HSA 2025 Code of Practice, introduce a far more stringent and preventative regime for managing asbestos risk.

These changes materially affect employers, building owners, managing agents, designers, contractors and asbestos removal companies. In short: the tolerance for unknown or unmanaged asbestos risk is gone.

Below is a practical summary of what has changed — and what it means in real terms.

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1. A Much Broader Duty to Assess Risk

Risk assessments must now go far beyond traditional asbestos works.

They must explicitly consider:

• All activities where asbestos exposure may occur

• Secondary and passive exposure, including

  • Building occupants

  • Maintenance teams

  • Cleaning staff

  • Anyone affected by vibration, deterioration or nearby works

Duty-holders must now:

• Identify who may be exposed

• Assess the nature, degree and duration of that exposure

• Put in place preventive and protective measures that reduce exposure to the lowest technically possible level

Crucially, the regulations now state that asbestos removal should be prioritised unless removal would create a greater risk.

This is a major shift from the traditional “manage in place” approach.

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2. Medical Surveillance Is No Longer Limited to Removal Work

Where asbestos exposure is possible, employers must now provide:

• Health assessments

• A responsible medical practitioner

• Individual medical records

• An occupational health register kept for up to 40 years

These obligations now apply wherever asbestos exposure may occur — not only during licensed removal works.

Risk assessment findings must now directly drive medical surveillance arrangements.

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3. Asbestos Surveys Are Now Mandatory Before Almost All Work

Under the new regime, asbestos surveys are required before:

• Managing buildings

• Maintenance or minor works

• Refurbishment

• Demolition

Where information is missing or uncertain, materials must be presumed to contain asbestos.

Surveys must be:

• Fit for the specific purpose

• Carried out by a competent person

This removes ambiguity: no work should proceed without asbestos being identified first.

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4. Removal Takes Priority Over Encapsulation

The amended regulations now explicitly require:

• Removal to be prioritised

• Retention or encapsulation to be formally justified

• Exposure to be reduced to the lowest technically achievable level

Before demolition or major refurbishment, asbestos should be removed unless doing so would increase overall risk.

This aligns Ireland fully with EU best-practice on asbestos elimination.

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5. Tougher Controls on Asbestos Removal Contractors

Key changes include:

Lower Exposure Limits

The occupational exposure limit is now:

0.01 fibres/cm³
—a ten-fold reduction.

Stronger HSA Oversight

Before work starts, contractors must now submit:

• Notification details

• Risk assessment

• Plan of work

• Training and competence records

Work cannot begin without an HSA permit number.

Notifications must be made at least 10 days in advance.

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6. Stronger Training Requirements

Training must now be:

• Matched to the actual risk

• Based on the type of work

• Aligned with EU guidance

Employers must keep records and be able to demonstrate that staff competence reflects the level of exposure identified.

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What This Means for Duty-Holders

These changes represent a fundamental shift:

Asbestos is no longer something to be “managed around”.
It must be identified, assessed and, where possible, eliminated.

Organisations should now:

• Re-examine asbestos surveys and risk assessments

• Ensure surveys match the planned activity

• Verify contractor compliance

• Review medical surveillance, training and notification systems

This is not optional — enforcement will follow.

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If you manage, own or work in buildings constructed before 2000, these changes apply to you.

Getting this wrong now carries far greater regulatory and legal risk — but getting it right significantly reduces the long-term health and liability exposure for everyone involved.

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