Mr. Mel O'Reilly:

The best way of protecting the consumer is to prevent defects occurring in the first place. There are different stages in building control and the competency of both the design and the builders is important. However, CIRI is not just to be a register of builders but also one of specialist subcontractors. Mr. Eamon O'Boyle said fire stopping was essential but it is not covered by a trade - it is done by people who are semi-skilled. The objective of CIRI is to ensure that people who carry out these essential works are trained in the exercise of those activities. In the longer term, the builder will be competent but he will also only employ competent contractors who are on the register.