Ms Caroline Spillane:

The sector that is proposed to be regulated is complex and regulation is a very complex and costly course of action to take. In looking through the scheme of the Bill, section 10 provides for a complaint against a registered member so it would be for an individual to take a complaint against the named registered member, either a company or an individual, and it does provide for three different levels of complaint to be made against improper conduct, poor professional performance or a registration requirement. When the Bill becomes law and the register is in operation the issue will be how robust the processes will be and it will be very important for there to be accountability and transparency in respect of the systems and processes that are put in place and then the decisions that are made if a complaint is made against a registered member.

In the context of sanctions, I think there is redress to the courts in cases where the registered member wants to appeal against the sanction. Ultimately, the sanction of being eliminated from a register impacts upon one's livelihood and I imagine that there would be provision for an appeal to the High Court in such circumstances. That is a very serious matter. From the point of view of the operation of the CIRI register, it would be important that there would be sufficient reserve funds for the registration body to be able to defend decisions that are made if an appeal is taken to the High Court.