Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This is important and timely legislation. It has been a long time coming. At the outset, I acknowledge the enormous work of a former colleague of the Minister of State, and former Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government, Maria Bailey. I am looking at her name on the report and the seven key recommendations dated December 2017. She did an enormous amount of work. She was exceptionally focused in this area. She had a huge interest in construction and building and, of course, had significant experience as a councillor on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. It was only in recent days when I was preparing my contribution on the Bill that I realised how important a role she played, how she led and her enormous experience. I acknowledge that and I know other Members will join me in acknowledging her work.

Senator Casey, who was formerly a Deputy, was Vice Chairman of that committee and did a significant amount of work. He brought a common-sense approach to the construction sector and had significant experience on Wicklow County Council.

I also wish to acknowledge the Oireachtas Library and Research Service. Many people do not give it enough credit. I always tell any good Minister to consult the Oireachtas Library and Research Service or get his or her colleagues to do so. The service tells me it does not provide departmental advice but, rather, prepares information for Oireachtas Members. Any good and clever Minister, however, would take sight of this Bill digest document because it teases out all of the seven recommendations, not all of which have been included completely in the legislation.

One has to ask why not all of the seven recommendations have been completely included. There may be good and valid reasons for that. We have moved on from 2017 and learned a lot since then. That is important. I will certainly be tabling amendments based on the Bill digest prepared by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service to the Bill as it is before us today.. I advise the officials, if they have time - I know they do - to take a look at the Bill digest. The first line that jumps out at me in the summary is, "It is anticipated that the responsibility for operation of the statutory CIRI will remain with the CIF." That may not be what happens. It may not be appropriate or the right thing to do. I am highlighting that as a challenge. Some people may refer to the independence of the CIF. It is an able and professional organisation but it may be the case that some people will be uncomfortable with it having that responsibility.That must be challenged and we must look at other models and international practice. It is something we should consider. It is great when we have fine granular detail from the Bill digest carried out for us by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service team. I acknowledge that and it is important.

There are seven key recommendations and I was on the committee that dealt with those aspects. We dealt with the independence of the register and board membership and the clarification regarding the regulatory impact analysis, RIA. This digest document suggests there is currently no RIA element attached to the Bill. That is something we will be looking for and that we should be seeing. It makes absolute sense to have it. The sooner the RIA is conducted for this legislation, the better. We also looked at the registration categories for prescribed bodies, the definition of competences and consumer protection and financial redress and insurance. These are key aspects. There is also the question of accountability and transparency, which is important in every walk of life, as well as the complaints procedure.

I wanted to raise those few points but I fully recognise the need for and support this Bill. I may seek to table one or two amendments to it later. I acknowledge that the main objective of the proposed legislation is to develop and promote a culture of competence, good practice and compliance with building regulations within the building community and the construction sector, and that is important. It is about establishing a robust mandatory and statutory register for builders and specialist contractors, which is essential in protecting customers. That is really important.

As others said, under the Government's housing strategy, Housing for All, which was published on 2 September 2021, key housing policy objective No. 25 looks to "drive compliance and standards through regulatory reform" and "embed compliance in the construction sector through building regulations and building control regulations," and assessment of building control structures, "including establishing registers of competent builders by placing the Construction Industry Register Ireland (CIRI) on a statutory footing". That commitment has been made and the Government is honouring it, which I acknowledge. I support all of that.

I will turn to section 22 of the Bill, which deals with the registration body and would establish an independent 11-person admissions and registration board. It is key that this is independent. The board will consist of the chairperson and ten ordinary members, which is important. We must have full regard to gender concerns and a mix of skill sets, which is also important. I acknowledge that the chairperson could, according to the Bill, be a former judge of the Circuit Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court. That may not be the case but it is what the Government is proposing. Of the ordinary members, five shall be nominated by the Minister and five shall be nominated for appointment by the registration boards. It is important to get broad consensus on how the members are appointed.

In essence, I support this process but we should give credit and support to an Oireachtas joint committee established by these Houses that has done much work and drawn on many people with expertise in the area. Let us take from them and the key recommendations that formed the background to this legislation.