Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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522. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will outline the new rules regarding certification required for persons building new houses; when these will be operative; his views on whether this will add to the cost of the construction of houses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8218/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The new Building Control Amendment Regulations will greatly strengthen the arrangements currently in place for the control of building activity by requiring greater accountability in relation to compliance with Building Regulations in the form of statutory certification of design and construction, lodgement of compliance documentation, mandatory inspections during construction and validation and registration of certificates. The statutory certificates must be given by the lead designer, who must be a registered construction professional prior to commencement and by the Assigned Certifier, also a registered construction professional, whose role is to prepare and implement an inspection plan during construction, so that the Assigned Certifier is in a position, in conjunction with the builder, to sign the certificate of compliance on completion.

An extensive public consultation process was undertaken in 2012 to inform the development of the revised building control regulations which will come into effect on 1 March 2014. Comprehensive consultation documents were published including Strengthening the Building Control System - A Document to inform public consultation on Draft Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2012 which sets out the context in which the reforms will operate and the regulatory impact of these for building owners and industry stakeholders. This document remains available on my Department’s website.

In summary terms, the arrangements being put in place for the control of building activity may result in additional design, certification and, possibly, insurance costs which must ultimately be borne by the building owner. Such additional costs would be justified by the enhanced quality and standard of design and construction of the building project concerned in light of several notable instances of non-compliant buildings which failed to meet minimum building standards. It is anticipated that the statutory inspection process will reduce the incidences of defective works on site and the resultant associated costs of carrying out remedial works will reduce accordingly.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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523. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2013, SI No. 80 of 2013, which are due to come into force on 1 March 2014, will expressly prohibit Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, CIAT, members from providing architectural services here; if he will acknowledge that members of this group have the necessary experience, knowledge and skills and should be, therefore, eligible to register with the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland as an interim measure until CIAT members are granted a register in their own right; if he will acknowledge that failure to grant them eligibility will ultimately result in many unnecessary business closures and redundancies across the industry; in view of the fact that he has the authority to extend the regulations to include a register for chartered architectural technologists, if he will commit to reviewing the parameters of the register with a view to admitting members of CIAT to it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8226/14]

Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)
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529. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will consider amending S.I. No. 80 of 2013 - Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2013 - to include architectural technologists in the schedule of those eligible to certify under this legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8281/14]

Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)
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530. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will examine a submission (details supplied); if he will detail the consultations he has had with this body; if he will respond to the substance of these complaints; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8282/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 523, 529 and 530 together.

New Building Control (Amendment) Regulations will, from 1 March 2014, strengthen the arrangements in place for the control of building activity, by requiring greater accountability in relation to compliance with Building Regulations in the form of statutory certificates of design and construction, lodgement of compliance documentation, mandatory inspection during construction and validation and registration of statutory certificates. The statutory certificates of compliance must be signed by a registered professional i.e. a person who is included on the statutory registers of architects or building surveyors maintained in accordance with parts 3 and 5 respectively of the Building Control Act 2007 or on the register of chartered engineers established under the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland (Charter Amendment) Act 1969.

Architects, Building Surveyors and Chartered Engineers are the construction professions typically involved in the design of construction works in Ireland and reference to these professions in regulation is entirely appropriate. Depending on their personal circumstances it may be open to persons who are members of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT), and who possess the requisite experience and competence in the design of buildings, to seek inclusion on either of the statutory registers referred to which would enable a person to sign statutory certificates of compliance as provided for under the new regulations when they come into effect on and from 1 March 2014. There is no question of persons who are not included on the statutory registers being permitted to sign certificates of compliance.

My Department has had detailed engagement with CIAT subsequent to the public consultation on the proposed Building Control Amendment Regulations (which led to S.I. No 9 of 2014). In this regard, my Department has outlined a number of options in keeping with the Building Control Act 2007 which could be pursued by CIAT with a view to progressing the registration of its Chartered Architectural Technologist members. In May 2013 CIAT presented a case for recognition of Chartered Architectural Technologists as a route to inclusion on the register of persons entitled to use the title of Building Surveyor in accordance with Part 5 of the Building Control Act 2007, based on benchmarking the competence of Chartered Architectural Technologists against existing routes to registration as a Building Surveyor. In June 2013 CIAT presented a similar case in respect of inclusion on the register of persons entitled to use the title of Architect in accordance with Part 3 of the Building Control Act 2007. The Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland (SCSI) and the RIAI, as the registration bodies for the relevant professions under the Act of 2007, and as the competent authorities in Ireland for the purposes of the EU Directive on the recognition of Professional Qualifications, are currently considering the cases put forward by CIAT. Neither I nor my Department have any role in the assessment or validation of professional qualifications in this manner and cannot pre-empt the outcome in either case.  However, should the SCSI or the RIAI as appropriate determine that the competence of the Chartered Architectural Technologists is equivalent to the requirements for inclusion on either register, it would fall to me as Minister to bring forward relevant suitable amendments to the Building Control Act 2007.