Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

144. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason there is a requirement (details supplied) for persons seeking to have professional qualifications for regulated construction industry activities recognised in relation to qualifications obtained outside the State; if his attention has been drawn to the difficulty this requirement is having for residents of Border communities who have previously obtained the relevant qualifications in Northern Ireland and wish to work and provide services here and who may in previous years have provided such services here; the actions he will take to address this anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18747/18]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

145. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason there is a requirement (details supplied) for persons seeking to have professional qualifications for regulated construction industry activities recognised for the provision of services on a temporary or occasional basis in relation to qualifications obtained outside the State; if his attention has been drawn to the difficulty this requirement is having for residents of Border communities living here and that wish to work and provide services here; the actions he will take to address this anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18748/18]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 145 together.

A number of professional activities in the construction sector are regulated by the SOLAS Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013. These professional activities may only be pursued by persons who are suitably qualified.

Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications provides the legal framework for the recognition of qualifications obtained outside the State and is transposed into Irish law by S.I. 8 of 2017. This Directive enables EU/EEA professionals to move between Member States and practice their chosen professions while respecting the regulatory standards of each jurisdiction.

SOLAS recognises qualifications in line with the provisions of Directive 2005/36/EC and S.I. 8 of 2017 which specifies processes which apply to professionals seeking to provide services on a temporary and occasional basis in the State. For professionals to avail of this option under the Directive, they must provide evidence that they are legally established to practice that profession in another Member State.

Where a profession is regulated in one Member State but not another, as is the case with the CSCS professions, legal establishment is evidenced by the professional displaying that they have pursued that profession in one or more Member States for at least one year during the last 10 years.