Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for introducing this important Bill. We hope to support it, with a few amendments.

I will go through some of the Bill's important components. Section 22 establishes the licensing authority as a designated competent authority for recognising foreign qualifications in respect of scheduled activities. This is important, and not only in the context of this Bill, as it sets an important precedent for Bills that affect a variety of other sectors. For example, since the beginning of the pandemic, countless industries have suffered staff shortages. The solutions to these shortages are often complex. In education, for example, teacher shortages are being caused by the cost of living, by the housing crisis and, crucially in the case of this Bill, by issues with regulation. There is no effective and timely process for teachers to translate their overseas qualifications and experience into employment here, which is why the establishment of a licensing authority as a designated competent body to do just that in the construction industry is more than welcome and sets an important precedent. We look forward to seeing more detail on how this will work. I hope that the precedent can be transferred.

Section 9 is on competent licensing. We find ourselves living through a housing crisis, and we hear stories about it from our constituents every day. It has been allowed to proceed unabated. A radical increase in the construction of social and affordable homes is a necessary component of tackling this emergency. However, an expansion in the workforce is needed to achieve these goals. Too often in the public service, we see bodies that are unsuited to their assigned functions. As such, the proactive licensing authority must be fit for purpose. If it is not, workforce shortages will remain and standards will continue to drop. This authority must have within its staff sufficient expertise and knowledge about construction work and training. Though licensing must become quicker, speed should never be to the detriment of standards.

This country has a dark recent history when it comes to construction scandals. The mica scandal is another grim legacy of boom era shoddy construction that must never be allowed to happen again. I am unsure about whether certain matters are covered by the Bill. Until this time last year, for example, I believe the NBCMSO only had four staff working – I am not sure about this number, so the Minister of State might clarify – across 31 local authorities with a budget of €564,000, or approximately €18,000 per local authority, and responsibility for inspecting 1,100 quarries. We need to see better than that.

The burden of rebuilding was left on those affected, who suffered great financial and mental strife. However, the issue of lax building standards is one that is broader than the mica scandal. We have seen it before with pyrite and with construction defects in apartments built during the Celtic tiger. As many as 100,000 apartments across the country have serious building defects such as fire safety issues. Homeowners and the State are persistently left with liability for paying for expensive building repairs while construction companies, developers and quarry owners walk away from the mess they made. In many cases, they have been allowed to re-enter the industry unchecked. The State cannot keep picking up the tab for negligence by quarries and the construction sector. Strong standards need to be enforced, including a rigorous system of testing and independent inspection and, in the case of this Bill, a purpose-built training and assessment pipeline for workers and tutors that leaves no room for error.

It must be noted that an improved licensing authority without adequate funding will not effect real change in the industry. The Minister of State must ensure that this project receives suitable backing from the Exchequer. Too often, good ideas are allowed to stagnate and suffer because insufficient funding was provided.

In section 12, we discuss the importance of inspection. For real improvements to be made in the regulation of construction, an emphasis must be placed on the frequency of inspection of workers and tutors. It is all well and good to detail a new authority with updated standards, but without a roster of qualified inspectors working on a rota who frequently reassess the competency of the workforce, no new benefits will be observed. It is essential that those who play key roles in the authority must have an awareness of how construction is actually practised across the country without an assumption that, up to this point, all stakeholders have played by the rules when we know that is not the case. Only by identifying our past problems can we create a better future. Reassessment of workers and tutors leaves less room for error and, in the case of the construction industry, can mean the safety of workers and the public is treated with the utmost respect. It is no insult to professionals that inspection should be more frequent. Rather, it is a protective measure for them, their colleagues and their clients. I have already outlined some of the deficiencies of the NBCMSO in terms of its staffing and budget.

Section 13 is on the dissemination of information. The new licensing authority must specify on its website which programmes, courses or other training, including safety awareness training, must be undertaken and which qualifications must be held in order to obtain a licence or approval. Most crucially, the website should also outline the process and procedures in place to recognise the training, experience and qualifications of persons from other EU member states or third countries. These changes will affect one of the largest industries in the country, though, so a wider information campaign should be conducted by the authority than just a website. Multimedia advertisements may present a more effective way of reaching those who are less online, have limited access to the Internet or for whom English is not their first language.

As to recognising the training, experience and qualifications of those from outside Ireland, the matter of equivalence is an important one. In section 13, the Bill makes clear that foreign training and experience should be recognised as sufficient for licensing if, and only if, the standard of the training is equal to what we accept in this country as sufficient. However, more information is required to understand this equivalence. For example, should the qualifications be recognised as a certain standard by the EU or another regulatory body? How will those travelling from third countries know if their training and experience is at the level required to be equivalent to our standards? A dossier is needed that can highlight which courses in which countries fit the bill for licensing here. Otherwise, some workers may not consider travelling to join our workforce if they are unsure of their eligibility.

Section 14 is on continuous training. I welcome the emphasis placed on continuous training in the Bill, as it is one aspect that has been absent from many industries across the country. Education should never stop at the point of a particular qualification.

5 o’clock

Time often erodes our past learning so continuous learning is needed to keep up with emerging technologies, trends and techniques. It is incredibly important that the many workers who are later into life receive support to learn new skills while continuing to hone old ones. This issue is particularly pertinent in the construction sector where mistakes can be made in that regard and, indeed, often have been. With regular education, inspections and support, these mistakes will become fewer and fewer.

I will conclude by highlighting the importance of ensuring that there is a continuous conveyor belt and that people are incentivised to become apprentices in this industry at a multitude of different levels. In communities such as mine, there were previously great pathways whereby people entered employment as electricians or carpenters. Those pathways seem to have closed up significantly in recent years. Once again, that comes down to issues such as the cost of living. The old payments of €6.84 an hour are simply not sufficient for a person to live in this city and be an apprentice in these crucial industries. The Minister, Deputy Harris, promised that ten new apprenticeship schemes would emerge in 2023 across areas including technology, engineering, farming and horticulture. From what I understand, only one of these ten programmes has gone live so far. We need to expedite these important measures and to see apprentices not in the old way, that is, as young people just getting their start, but as essential to the workforce from the word go. We need to ensure their pay is suitable and adequate to keep up with the cost of living and that they are respected in the workplace. They must also be trained in new and emerging techniques.

See this speech in context