Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022

On 6 July 2022, the Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 (the “Act”) came into effect. The Act is part of the government’s new housing plan to 2030, known as ‘Housing for All’. It aims to improve the housing system over the long term, amend mistakes made in the past in the construction sector and ensure these errors are not repeated in the future. The main objective of the Act is to help advance a culture of competence, good practice and compliance with the Building Regulations and ensure fairer competition in the construction sector for compliant operators.

The Construction Industry Federation developed the Construction Industry Register Ireland (“CIRI”) in 2014. CIRI is a voluntary online register of competent builders, contractors, specialist sub-contractors and tradespersons who undertake to carry out construction works in the public and private sector. Part 2 of the Act puts CIRI on a statutory footing, making registration mandatory. All entities providing building services are required to register, this includes builders that are subject to the Building Regulations. It is proposed that the first category (home builders and builders of non-residential buildings) can begin registering with CIRI in 2023 although registration for this group is not mandatory under the Act until early 2024. Once an application is approved, the company will be added to the register and given a unique CIRI registration number and a profile on the live register.

For further information on the Act and its impact on other legislation please see our Insight published on 2 August 2022.