Building control (construction industry register Ireland) Bill 2017

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the rationale for the detail in drafting the building control (construction industry register Ireland) Bill 2017; if he will undertake to expedite the introduction of the Bill as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

The Government has committed to placing the Construction Industry Register Ireland, or CIRI, on a statutory footing.  CIRI was established on a voluntary basis in 2014 and over 800 building and contracting entities are currently included on the register.

At the end of May 2017, the Government approved the draft heads of a Bill to place the CIRI on a statutory footing and the Bill was referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government for pre-legislative scrutiny.  The Committee’s report was received on 14 December 2017 and its recommendations are being considered.  In parallel, the drafting of the Bill is being progressed and while I am not in a position at this stage to give a precise indication of the timeline for the Bill's publication, my Department is working with the Attorney General's Office with a view to achieving publication in Q1 2019. 

The main objective of the legislation is to develop and promote a culture of competence, good practice and compliance with Building Regulations within the builder community of the construction sector. The establishment of a robust, mandatory, statutory register of builders and specialist contractors is an essential consumer protection measure giving those who engage a registered builder the assurance that they are dealing with a competent and compliant operator.  In addition, it will complement the reforms, which have been made through the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 and contribute to the development of an enhanced culture of competence and compliance in the construction sector.