I propose to take Questions Nos. 301 and 329 together.
It is important, in the first instance, to note that inclusion on the statutory registers of building professionals is not confined to the members of the professional bodies who act as registration bodies. Routes to registration already exist for individuals who are competent to design buildings and who have been doing so in an unregistered capacity for a significant number of years. I understand that each of the three registration bodies responsible for the registration of architects, building surveyors and chartered engineers has seen an increase in the level of applications for registration as a result of the new opportunities now available to registered construction professionals as a result of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014.
A variety of routes to registration exist and Ireland is unique in providing mechanisms for those who can demonstrate that they have acquired the requisite experience and competence in the design of buildings, to become registered. This would enable a person to sign statutory certificates of compliance as provided for under the new regulations.
My Department has recently given preliminary consideration to the proposals put forward in recent weeks by the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists and by the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland for separate voluntary registers of architectural technologists with a view to these registers being placed on a statutory footing at a future date. Both bodies have been invited to meet with my Department later this month in order to discuss how both sets of proposals for the registration and regulation of Architectural Technologists can be progressed.
