Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Section 44 outlines the grounds for complaint under the Act regarding a registered member to the registration body. We must oppose amendments Nos. 30 and 31 to section 44, which seek to provide that failure to comply with building regulations and planning permission would be grounds for complaint. They are outside the scope of the Bill. This register is a register of competence of providers of building works. Therefore, non-compliance with building regulations is not grounds for a complaint.

Failure to comply with building regulations is a matter for the building control authorities and this falls under the Building Control Act 1990. Failure to comply with planning permission is a matter for planning authorities and this falls under the Planning and Development Act 2000. Complaints with regard to these are matters for the relevant authorities, as we have outlined previously. While these cannot be grounds for a complaint under the Bill, a conviction could be used as evidence for a complaint along with further evidence. I hope that clarifies the matter. I take on board the points made about the appalling previous practices but, again, these amendments are outside the scope of the Bill.

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