A builder story gone wrong is something many readers can relate to, either from first-hand experience, hearing about the woes of friends and colleagues, or from watching TV shows on the subject.
It may be too late for homeowners who have experienced mica and fire regulation scandals in the past, but for future generations of homebuyers, it is good news that a Construction Industry Register Ireland (CIRI) is being created.
When fully operational, it will comprise a list of what its registrar Sarah Ingle, an engineer and strategic management specialist, describes as being “competent” providers of building works, from large firms to sole traders and tradespeople.
It has been a long time coming, she says, explaining that the idea was first mooted 10 years ago. In early 2023, the Minister for Housing appointed the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) as the CIRI registration body, with Ingle appointed to her role last January.
“The CIF, as a registration body, has developed a code of practice that these firms and individuals will undertake to comply with,” says Ingle.
“The code’s requirements include providing building works by a named competent person to a good-quality standard, and conforming to certain legal, regulatory and continuing professional development requirements,” she explains.
Everything to do with the statutory register will be determined by an independent admissions and registration board. Comprising a panel of industry experts appointed by the Minister of Housing, the board will “speak ‘builder’” if you will, a language most of us are far from fluent in. It also aims to cut through any use of opaque language.
“Before, a consumer had to go and get references from any builder they potentially wanted to do work on their homes or build their home from scratch,” says Ingle. “[Whereas] now, you’ve got this board looking at their work on your behalf.”
A company has to apply to become registered. To do that, it has to demonstrate competence through three examples of their work, built and finished within the last seven years, with all details recorded. It will need a tax clearance certificate and a certificate of incorporation, if a company, for the application.
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It will also have to list who its competent person or people are, including the names of all its managers and directors, and whether any have a previous conviction.
A sole trader can also apply, and must also demonstrate competence.
The assessment process is not quite finalised yet. Ingle says she has drilled down through every word in the forms and has tried to make it as straightforward a process as possible.
When complete, there will be 80-plus divisions to cover different kinds of building works, from tradespeople to household-name developers. This aspect is still a long way off, but the board will be recommending a subset of those divisions for when the register is launched.
“Within the regulatory environment in Ireland for builders, we already have the Building Control and Market Surveillance office, which provides oversight, support and direction for the development, standardisation and implementation of the state’s Building Control Acts 1990-2014,” says Ingle.
“Also in development, as announced by the Government last year, is the Building Standards Regulatory Authority, which will co-ordinate the building control function and make improvements and address standardisation across local authorities,” she says.
“Electrical providers and gas installers currently have their own registers, and CIRI will be a comparable one for builders, adding to the professional registers already in place for engineers, architects and surveyors and others that work in the built environment. CIRI is therefore the final piece in the context of the bigger regulatory picture,” she explains.
The department want to first focus on residential practitioners, says Ingle, “such as firms that have capacity to construct 10 or more properties, be they apartments, duplexes or houses”.
So initially the register “will comprise large home builders and developers rather than those who you’d call to build an extension for you”, she explains.
Most of the entities are expected to be compliant and competent when the register launches, as much as 98 per cent, she estimates.
Historically, those working in the built environment industry considered professionals to be those who had a third-level degree such as architects, engineers and surveyors, says Ingle. “If they don’t have these or similar qualifications, providers of building works, including tradespeople, now have a way to be admitted to an appropriate register in Ireland that will be ultimately regulated within the EU.”
Consumer recourse
There will be specific grounds for complaints from homeowners when the register is launched, but the likes of builders downing tools will not be covered. Buyers should continue to beware.
We have 11 months to “get on it”, says Ingle. The CIRI register is planned to be available to use by the end of December 2025.
Will the register mean that the industry loses some of its 70,000-strong force, a figure recorded in the 2022 census? “Possibly, but some smaller entities might converge and set up together,” Ingle says.
“The CIRI register will give all providers of building works, individuals, SMEs and larger firms, the opportunity to professionalise within a regulated environment. A small number of individuals or firms might find they don’t have the required competencies to be admitted on to the register, and maybe that’s okay.”
Ingle says she hopes the register will go some way to retiring the term “cowboy builder”, so in the future, it will be a no to the cliched chaps, lasso and gun-toting approach of some in the industry.
It will take a few years to establish the register in the wider context. There will be four categories of application – residential, commercial, building services and tradespeople/specialists.
It remains a very valid piece of work, she says. “In time you will be able to consult the register and see that the builder you’d like to win the tender for your works is on the register.”
*This article was amended at 11.30am on January 28th
