Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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2180. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if it is a statutory requirement for all design certifiers and assigned certifiers to have professional indemnity insurance. [27305/17]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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2181. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if his Department or a body under its aegis or professional bodies retain or have access to statistics on the number or percentage of assigned certifiers that have professional indemnity insurance and on the number or percentage of assigned certifiers that have latent defects insurance; and if so, if he will supply same. [27306/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2180 and 2181 together.

The Code of Practice for Inspecting and Certifying Building Works, published by the Minister in accordance with Regulation 20G of the Building Control Regulations 1997 – 2015, specifies that the following persons may act as the Assigned Certifier, provided they are competent in relation to the particular works involved:

- (a) Architects that are on the register maintained by the RIAI under Part 3 of the Building Control Act 2007; or

- (b) Building Surveyors that are on the register maintained by the SCSI under Part 5 of the Building Control Act 2007; or

- (c) Chartered Engineers on the register maintained by Engineers Ireland under section 7 of the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland (Charter Amendment) Act 1969.

Similarly, the Design Certifier must be one of the above registered professionals and must be competent to carry out their design and to co-ordinate the design activities of others for the works concerned.

The requirements for the members of each of the above professions to obtain insurance cover is a matter for each individual professional body. My Department has no function in relation to this matter nor does it collect, or have access to, any statistics in relation to the types of insurance cover subscribed to.

Owners, and homeowners in particular, who commission works should generally satisfy themselves as to the adequacy of the insurances held by contractors or professionals they may wish to consider engaging.