Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This legislation is long overdue. The Law Reform Commission proposed such legislation back in 1977, and it was again proposed by Mr. Phil Hogan in 2014. Sinn Féin will support the legislation, as it did in the Dáil. While the construction industry register has existed voluntarily since 2014, we have to ensure that it is truly independent in nature. Sinn Féin has expressed the view that a construction industry register should be truly independent. That means independent of the industry and not located within the industry, that is, the Construction Industry Federation. The Government never advanced the idea of a statutory register as initially proposed by the Law Reform Commission and to this day is insisting that it be located within the industry. Its home will be in, among other things, a lobbying organisation. It is our firm view that such a register should be located within the National Building Control Office, NBCO. Indeed, we proposed an amendment to this effect on Committee and Report Stages in the Dáil. There is a chance for this Bill to be an extremely effective protection when it comes to rogue builders. That is why the NBCO is the appropriate home for the register.

The register will be established over the next two years. I note that registration is required from 2024. Is such a long lead-in time really necessary? The register has been in place voluntarily since 2014 so why do we need another two years up to 2024?

I will conclude with that. I look forward to the Minister of State's response on the issues of its location within the building control office and the lead-in time.