Mr. Tom Parlon:

What we have said is it is about consumer protection. I am ten years with the CIF this week, ever since I left the esteemed House here. The Construction Industry Federation wants to support and represent a very solid, sound, reputable industry, which is the bulk of our people. That reputation was sullied by some people, often referred to as cowboys, who did not have the qualifications and so on. Reputation is a very valuable business asset for organisations, industry and individuals. This is very much about protecting our reputation against unscrupulous people. Mr. Hank Fogarty said CIRI is absolutely independent and committed to consumer protection and the culture of compliance. The new building regulations are a whole new ball game in terms of compliance and how we produce buildings. Every building has to have an assigned certifier. It has to be signed off and there has to be insurance to cover that particular signature. It is confined to chartered engineers, chartered surveyors, chartered building surveyors and architects. From the consumer protection point of view, it is the last piece of the jigsaw. When hiring people from this register, the consumer has to be assured of their professionalism, competence, trustworthiness, compliance, tax compliance, insurance compliance, health and safety compliance and that they have completed all previous projects. It ticks all the boxes. Professionals who have to sign off on somebody when they are accepting tenders will be able to check if he or she is on the register. It will save a lot of hassle and time.

With regard to the point about the lack of oversight, the Minister has major input into all the different areas. I have much confidence in the House and how it develops legislation, and particularly in this process because people from all different political persuasions come in. We had two very eminent professionals in earlier who have identified shortcomings from an academic point of view. The Bill is in the process of being put together. It will be the biggest asset to consumer confidence that we have ever seen in the construction sector.