Public Consultation on a draft Code of Practice for Providers of Building Works as required under Section 20 of the Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Construction Industry Register Ireland (CIRI) invites observations, views and comments on the draft code of practice for Providers of Building Works as required under Section 20 of the Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022

The main objective of the Regulation of Providers of Building Works Act 2022 is to further develop and promote a culture of competence, good practice and compliance with the building regulations which will benefit consumers and the general public. The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has been appointed as the statutory registration body for the Construction Industry Register Ireland (CIRI).

As Divisions of the register are made available, builders can begin to apply to become a CIRI registrant from 2025. The statutory register will have a significant impact on all sections of the building industry from small contractors and craftspeople up to the larger construction companies.

There will be a statutory Admissions and Registration Board, and an Appeals Committee. CIRI will operate in a similar way to statutory registration schemes for other professions.

The main function of the Admissions and Registration Board will be to approve the competence of any entity applying to register using criteria which will be set out in legislation for each CIRI division or sub-division. These criteria will be:

• relevant experience,
• relevant qualifications, or
• a combination of both.

Following this process, entities who apply to join the register must demonstrate competence in the particular division or divisions they are applying for.

The Act allows for complaints against registered Providers of Building Works to be made on a number of grounds – in particular an entity providing building services in a category in which they are not registered. It provides for a range of proportionate sanctions to be imposed after investigation.

Entry on the register is open to all builders, whether sole traders, partnerships or registered companies, who:

• Demonstrate competence in building at the appropriate level of registration.
• Commit to continuous development of knowledge of building practice, building regulations and regulatory obligations.
• Undertake to adhere to the Code of Practice

Draft Code of Practice for Providers of Building Works

Through this submission the registration body would like to hear your views on this draft code of practice.

Submissions should emailed to: codeofpractice@cif.ie with a subject line: Code of Practice Submission

Guidelines for submissions

Submissions should:

1. Include the name and email address of the individual sender, business or body

2. Be concise, limited to less than 500 words

3. Provide an overall comment on the suitability of the code

4. Provide as appropriate, comments on one or more of the five sections in the draft code:

i. Introduction

ii. General Principles

iii. Quality Customer Service

iv. Legal and Regulatory Compliance

v. Continuing Professional Development and Competence

5. Be submitted within the body of an email

6. Include no attachments

All submissions must be received by 13 November 2024. Late submissions will not be considered.