Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I listened with great interest to various valuable contributions. Senator Norris, my good friend, introduced a sense of levity to the situation. However, we are dealing with a serious issue and this legislation was long overdue. As Senator Bannon stated, the longest lobby in democratic history must have been the one to register the name architect.

The Bill has three main objectives. First, it is to strengthen the enforcement powers of local building control authorities. Second, it aims to improve the accessibility of buildings for people with disabilities, a matter precious to me. I am pleased to be the Minister pushing this through and I know all Members share my anxiety in that. Third, it provides for the registration of the titles of architect, quantity surveyor and building surveyor.

Contrary to Senator O'Rourke's assertion, I was listening attentively to contributions, including hers. It is safe to say there is universal support in the House for the introduction of a disability access certificate. I want to make such universal access a reality and believe this Bill will achieve that.

Senator Bannon asked that local authorities be able to take summary prosecutions through the district court, something for which the Bill provides. The Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, undertook in the Dáil last week to consult the parliamentary draftsman regarding amendments tabled by Senator Bannon's party. Those amendments would allow local authorities to recover the cost of enforcement action, and I am considering that.

The Senator also mentioned that all sides of the House have welcomed the registration of architects, quantity surveyors and building surveyors. There is more or less universal agreement that the time has come to protect consumers from unqualified persons passing themselves off as building professionals. Among the great scourges in planning are those characters who draw houses essentially on the back of an envelope, trying to pass themselves off as architects. Some quite extraordinary charlatans are operating. I have seen in various local authority areas, including in my constituency, the appalling efforts that have been accepted. Young couples have had to pay through the teeth for the results of the extraordinary and slipshod approaches taken. It is very important that the titles of architect, quantity surveyor and building surveyor should be registered.

Architects will have the option of joining the RIAI, which is not mandatory. Senator Leyden, in an interesting contribution, asked regarding the list and mentioned previous difficulties in getting hold of it. I have therefore made arrangements for it to be placed in the Library.

Several Senators, including Senator O'Rourke, who has unfortunately left the Chamber, raised the technical assessment process for non-graduates. In particular, she and several others mentioned the Group of Independent Architects, the GIAI. The procedure for that assessment will be carried out by the technical assessment board to be established under section 19 of the Bill. However, that will have a majority of non-architect members, appointed by the Minister. As Senator Mansergh correctly spotted, it is quite an elegant solution to the problem that Senator O'Rourke and others raised, namely, that there might be an element of incestuousness.

Senator O'Rourke also mentioned concerns regarding elitism. The RIAI was agreed as the registration body by all the other architectural bodies, including the Irish Architects' Society, the Association of Building Engineers, the Architects' and Surveyors' Institute, and the Group of Independent Architects. It was not picked because of the appellation "royal" or any sense of elitism. On the issue of control, the RIAI will have to prepare annual reports and detailed accounts, and registration fees will be approved by the Minister. Senator Norris mentioned his concerns on both those points, which will be addressed.

Senator Leyden mentioned the question of providing a way for people with practical experience to register, as did Senator O'Rourke. Section 20 sets out the procedure, which enables a person to put forward information on projects that he or she has carried out, the very point raised by Senator O'Rourke. The technical assessment board, which will have a majority of lay members, will conduct an interview.

Senators Brady, Norris, Mansergh and others touched on the need to improve the standards of apartment buildings. I could not agree more. I am fully aware of the slime-coloured building mentioned, as well as one or two other monstrosities. Senators Norris and Brady will both be interested to hear that I have issued proposals on improved standards for apartments, particularly their size and layout, in order that there might be a better mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments.

The last category will suit families, and Senator Brady pointed out that if we are to achieve greater housing density and prevent urban sprawl, we must create apartments that are user-friendly and family-friendly, with basic amenities such as storage facilities and laundry rooms. There are now some very good examples, especially where the Dublin Docklands Development Authority is making a very real effort. I know from talking to the Taoiseach that he takes a more than merely constituency interest in it. It is interesting to see what is beginning to be realised.

Senators Brady, Norris and Mansergh spoke about the need to improve the standards of apartments and their general appearance, a suggestion to which I would sign up. Senator O'Rourke asked about restricting an architect from practising if he or she has not registered or was unsuccessful in the assessment process. It simply means that such a person will not be able to use the title of architect.

The assessment process, to which several Senators, in particular Senator Leyden, referred, was carried out in 1996 in connection with a proposed amendment to the EU architects directive then current. Some 170 architects were successful, just more than 50% of those who applied for the assessment, and as I have already said, the list is in the Library.

Senators Mansergh and Moylan both touched on water supply. Senator Moylan in particular raised a favourite point of mine. I am increasingly impatient with the level of delivery. Last Thursday in Castlebar, I was in the very happy position of announcing the biggest allocation ever made by a Minister in the history of the State towards rural water schemes. We have invested hundreds of millions in the past two years. The president of the Group Water Scheme Federation said he had never thought he would see the day when one could envisage an end to second-rate water in the rural countryside. The money is there, as is the building capacity, and I urge councils to be much more ambitious than hitherto.

Senators Mansergh and O'Rourke also mentioned the building and construction industry. I am at a loss as to how people in the Oireachtas and politics in general can continue to demonise it and the political choices it has made. Let us remind ourselves that 250,000 men and women now work in the industry producing first-rate houses and commercial buildings at a higher rate than anywhere else in Europe. In 1988, just 20 years ago, there were 71,000 people in the building and construction industry. If I were a carpenter, plumber, bricklayer, roofer or building supplier, I know I would have a political preference, and people have the right to make such choices in a democracy. There has been continual demonisation of the industry. They are not all saints or devils, and I cannot understand it.

The issue of technical assessment was touched on. The RIAI will not set the technical assessment for non-graduate architects. That will be done by the technical assessment board to be established under section 19. The procedures are set out under section 20. The suggestion that there might be some incestuous attempt to protect vested interests is refuted. The RIAI will be the registration body, and section 11 requires the establishment of an admissions board. A prudent balance has been struck in this case. Three architects will be appointed to the board, together with four non-architects nominated by the Minister. It will be chaired by a retired judge, solicitor or barrister.

Senator Moylan mentioned fire issues regarding timber construction. Fire safety is imperative irrespective of the building medium, and any medium subject to fire obviously imposes its own specific constraints. The Senator mentioned a particular instance, and a recent case in north County Dublin caused me concern; a tiny spark on an external balcony led to a fire in internal wall cavities that destroyed at least five homes. Questions will have to be asked in that regard.

A general issue raised was the energy performance of Irish buildings. On occasion I suggest things to the media, who do not always listen, but I make the following suggestion to Members of the Oireachtas and the public in general. A myth has developed that energy performance in Ireland is uniquely low, but that is a complete untruth. It has been put about by one particularly powerful and loquacious individual with deep pockets who is a timber lobbyist. I would argue that people should look at each medium on its individual merits. The suggestion that the Government shows bias to the cement industry is risible, particularly given my own relationship with some of the bigger people in the concrete sector where I have been regarded as one of the biggest thorns in their side. It is astonishing that this mythology is trotted out repeatedly.

The first point, that there is a particular bias towards concrete, is an absolute myth. The fact that this myth is peddled in the self interest of one lobbyist is demonstrated by the fact that the timber industry——