John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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390. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the engagement he had with the European Union, relative to the Building Control Act 2007, and Article 46 of Directive 2005-36-EC, on the recognition of professional qualifications; if members of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, who are recognised to practise legally here, and use the suffix MRIAI (Irl), will be recognised to practice in the EU, as part of a review of the directive; if he is pressing this case with the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22907/16]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Directive 2005/36/EC on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications, as amended by Directive 2013/55/EU, sets out a number of routes under which professionals may have their qualifications recognised to practice in other Member States.

The profession of architect is only one of seven professions within the Directive with a system of automatic recognition for qualifications. Professionals in possession of qualifications as listed in Annex V of the Directive are eligible for automatic recognition in other Member States. Annex V comprises the qualifications that meet the stated minimum training conditions necessary for inclusion in the automatic recognition system. In Ireland, the competent authority for the registration of architects is the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), who register the persons who fulfil the competencies set out in the Directive with the MRIAI qualification. As MRIAI is listed in Annex V, architects who hold the MRIAI qualification are eligible for automatic recognition in other Member States. While a professional may obtain automatic recognition, further authorisation or registration requirements may need to be fulfilled prior to being able to practice in other Member States.

For architects whose qualifications may not be listed in Annex V and are not eligible for automatic recognition, recognition may be sought under the general system. Under the general system, a professional can submit their qualifications for recognition to the relevant competent authority, in the Member State in which they intend to practice, who will in turn complete an assessment and reach a decision in accordance with the terms of the Directive. Architects who hold the MRIAI (IRL) qualification fall into this category. These comprise of architects who have demonstrated that they meet the requirements for registration in the State as set out in Part 3 of the Building Control Act 2007, having qualified through a number of special entry routes available, or previously available, in Ireland (e.g. the Minister’s List, the Technical Assessment Procedure or the Prescribed Register Admissions Examination). These special entry routes have not been recognised by the European Commission for the purposes of automatic recognition under the Directive.

The RIAI is designated as the registration body for the purposes of Part 3 of the Building Control Act of 2007 and is the competent authority for the purposes of Directive 2005/36/EC (as amended) on the recognition of professional qualifications. Any changes to the arrangements in place for the automatic recognition of architects registered in Ireland are a matter for the RIAI, as the competent authority in Ireland for the registration of architects, and the European Commission. I have no direct role in these aspects of the matter.