Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 May 2014
133. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding the discussion between his Department and the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, CIAT. [21829/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has had detailed engagement with the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT ) subsequent to the public consultation process undertaken during April and May 2012 which led to the recent Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014. In this regard, my Department has outlined a number of options in keeping with the Building Control Act 2007 which may be pursued by CIAT with a view to progressing the registration of its Chartered Architectural Technologist members. In May 2013 CIAT presented a case for recognition of Chartered Architectural Technologists as a route to inclusion on the register of Building Surveyors maintained by the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland in line with the Building Control Act 2007. The CIAT case is based on benchmarking the competence of Chartered Architectural Technologists against existing routes to registration as a Building Surveyor. In June 2013 CIAT presented a similar case in respect of inclusion on the register of Architects maintained by the Royal Institution of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) in line with Part 3 of the Building Control Act 2007.
The SCSI and the RIAI, as the registration bodies for the relevant professions under the Act of 2007, and as the competent authorities in Ireland for the purposes of the EU Directive on the recognition of Professional Qualifications, are currently considering the cases put forward by CIAT . Neither I nor my Department have any role in the assessment or validation of professional qualifications in this manner and cannot pre-empt the outcome in either case. However, should the SCSI or the RIAI as appropriate determine that the competence of the Chartered Architectural Technologists is equivalent to the requirements for inclusion on either register, it would fall to me as Minister to bring forward relevant suitable amendments to the Building Control Act 2007.
It is also worth noting that depending on their personal circumstances, it may be open to Architectural Technologists, who possess the requisite experience and competence in the design of buildings, to seek inclusion on one of the statutory registers.
I would therefore encourage those Architectural Technologists who consider they possess the requisite competence in the design of construction works to contact the SCSI or the RIAI in order to pursue registration so that they can avail of the many opportunities that will now be available to registered construction professionals as a consequence of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014.
