TGD M
Building Regulations Technical Guidance Document M: Access and Use (2022).
TGD M is the Irish Government's guidance on meeting Part M (Access and Use) of the Building Regulations. The 2022 edition applies to works starting on or after 1 January 2024 and sets out how buildings, their facilities and surroundings are made accessible to everyone.
For signage and wayfinding
What it asks of your signs
- 01Section 1.6.3 sets the baseline for signs: clear, short and concise wording, and text that is never set entirely in capitals.
- 02Key location information, such as directories and orientation signs, should be both visual and tactile where it is low enough to touch.
- 03Visual contrast is measured in light reflectance value (LRV): 30 points between surfaces as the general rule, with lower differences accepted for large lit areas and door furniture.
- 04Use the International Symbol of Access on signs to accessible entrances, routes and sanitary facilities where needed.
- 05Signs should be provided to help people find the lift, and floor numbers need tactile indicators at the lift buttons in the car and on the landing.
- 06Signal hearing enhancement systems with the standard symbols, and place long-read signs where people stopping to read them will not block a circulation route.
What it is and when it applies
Part M of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations requires adequate provision for people to access and use a building, its facilities and its environs. TGD M is the Minister's guidance on how to meet that requirement. Following it gives a prima facie indication of compliance; you can take another route, but you then have to show the building control authority that the requirement is met.
The 2022 edition applies to works, or a material change of use, starting on or after 1 January 2024. The 2010 edition can still be used where works started, or a planning application, Part 8 notice, fire safety certificate or disability access certificate was made or granted, on or before 31 December 2023, provided the external walls are erected by 31 December 2025. The 2022 edition accompanies S.I. No. 608 of 2022, which added requirement M4 for Changing Places toilets in certain buildings.
What it asks of signage
Section 1.6 (Aids to communication) is where wayfinding lives. It asks for an integrated approach to wayfinding, public address and hearing enhancement, and accepts that the same message may need to be delivered visually, tactilely and audibly. Sign design detail such as height, layout, font size, symbols and contrast is referred to BS 8300:2009, alongside Building for Everyone and the Sign Design Guide.
Signage requirements also appear throughout the document: clearly identifiable main entrances, directional signage to facilities, signs to lifts, signage to accessible car parking and setting down points, and signs indicating induction loops at reception and in audience areas.
Visual contrast
TGD M defines contrast by LRV difference measured to BS 8300:2009 Annex B or BS 8493. It also asks you to avoid glare from glossy surfaces and large repeating patterns where visual acuity matters, such as behind a reception desk. A sign that meets the LRV figure but sits under a downlight with a gloss face can still fail the people it is meant for.
How it relates to the UK documents
TGD M covers ground similar to Approved Document M in England and Wales, Section 4 of the Scottish Technical Handbooks and Technical Booklet R in Northern Ireland, but the documents differ in detail and are not interchangeable. A common mistake on cross-border schemes is to issue a UK access specification unchanged for an Irish site. TGD M still references BS 8300:2009 by date, while the current BS 8300 is in two parts; design to the current standard but check that the dated reference is also satisfied.
Editions and history
Earlier editions: 1991 and 1997 (Access for Disabled People), 2000 reprinted 2005 (Access for People with Disabilities) and 2010 (Access and Use), which applied to works starting on or after 1 January 2012 and ceased to have effect from 1 January 2024, subject to the transitional arrangements in the 2022 edition.
Sources checked
- gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/publications/technical-guidance-document-m-access-and-use/
- assets.gov.ie/static/documents/technical-guidance-document-m-access-and-use-2022.pdf
- assets.gov.ie/static/documents/technical-guidance-document-m-access-and-use-2010-229-mb.pdf
- irishstatutebook.ie/2022/en/si/0608.html
- gov.ie/en/organisation-information/cac56-re-use-of-public-sector-information/
A summary in our own words, checked on 16 October 2026. It is not the document itself and not legal advice.
Equivalents and related
The same ground, elsewhere.
- Approved Document M: Access to and use of buildings, Volume 1: DwellingsEngland
- Approved Document M: Access to and use of buildings, Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellingsEngland
- Approved Document M: Access to and use of buildings (Wales)Wales
- Building Standards Technical Handbooks (Domestic and Non-domestic), Section 4: SafetyScotland
- Technical Booklet R: Access to and use of buildingsN. Ireland
- Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment. External environment. Code of practiceUK
- Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment. Buildings. Code of practiceUK
- Accessibility and usability of the built environment. Functional requirementsUK & Ireland
- Disability Act 2005 (Ireland), Part 3: Access to buildings and servicesIreland
- Building for Everyone: A Universal Design ApproachIreland
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Working to TGD M on a live project?
Wayfinding design, compliance, manufacture and installation, with the signage certificates signed off by us.