Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is a welcome and long overdue Bill. It was first proposed in 1977 by the Law Reform Commission and it is timely that we are discussing it today. While the Construction Industry Register Ireland has existed in a voluntary capacity since 2014, it has done so under the auspices of the Construction Industry Federation, CIF. As we have seen in many facets of Irish society, self-regulation often amounts to no regulation. It is essential that any such register is fully independent in nature. We in Sinn Féin do not think it is appropriate for a register of this importance to be located within the industry. It should be completely independent and, in our view, located within the National Building Control Office, NBCO.

There are approximately 800 specialist building contractors currently registered, and this figure is expected to increase to at least 5,000 under statutory registration. The Bill provides for a lead-in time of two years for registration, which is totally unnecessary. As mentioned, the register has been in existence since 2014. There is no need to wait for another two years. Many decent contractors are already registered and the others will not be long about following suit.

There must be clear separation between members of the board and the industry. The Bill provides for the Minister to appoint committee members to the registration board. This is not appropriate and should be done via the Public Appointments Service.

The new legislation will apply to the providers of building works for residential and non-residential buildings. It does not include employees of such entities, but does include sole traders. It also provides for a range of sanctions to be imposed after investigation into these complaints. While there are many excellent building contractors out there, we have all heard the horror stories of cowboy builders. There are cowboys in most industries, and they need to be dealt with accordingly.

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