RIAI EGM | Tuesday 4th November 2014
by Bregs Blog admin team
Alexander Hotel, Fenian St., Dublin 2
The RIAI are hosting an EGM at the Alexander Hotel at 6pm on Tuesday 4th November 2014. This is a follow on to an EGM held on 12th August 2014 when a vote on whether to call for S.I. 9 to be revoked was deferred (Resolution 1 below). In the meantime two further resolutions have been added to the ticket for what promises to be another great evening of debate for architects at The Alexander. It will be interesting to see if the appetite for discussion of the Building Control Regulations remains strong, eight months after their introduction, and if the attendance remains at the level of 400-500 architects as attended the previous EGM. The motions are as follows:
Resolution No. 1
(pdf here: ORDINARY_RESOLUTION_1)
“For the reasons outlined above and in the interests of the Registered Members, the consumer and the
wider construction industry, we the Registered Members, call for the RIAI Council to adopt as their first
priority a policy to seek publicly the revocation of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations: S.I.9 of
2014 and its replacement by a system which better protects the consumer and to actively reach out to
other groups to seek support for that policy”.
Proposed by:
Gerald Murphy
Barry Kelly
Seán Carew
Maoilíosa Mel Reynolds
Ciarán Ferrie
Stuart H. Blain
Edward Hedderman
Manfredi Anello
Eric Govin
David McHugh
This is the original motion that was deferred from August having seemingly being considered so radical and controversial. It mirrors similar calls throughout the year by a series of County Councils, members of the Dail and Seanad and even by a Fine Gael sub-committee on the Environment.
Resolution No. 2
(pdf here: ORDINARY_RESOLUTION_2_EGM_041114_JKENNEDY)
“That the registered members endorse and confirm their support for the decision of the
Council made at the July 2014 Council Meeting to develop a working document on Building
Control that would propose amendments to S.I.9 of 2014 and constructively engage with
stakeholders in order to realise the best interests of the profession for the long term”.
Proposed by:
Paul Keogh
James Coady
Martin Donnelly
Sean O’Laoire
David Browne
Arthur Hickey
John Mitchell
James Pike
Liam Tuite
Jack Coughlan
William Gleeson
Ruth McParland
Anne Fletcher
This is one of the two new motions and has four RIAI Past Presidents among its signatories. This is probably the vanilla option and the one least likely ‘to frighten the horses on the street’ or the officials at the Department of the Environment.
Resolution No. 3
(pdf here: ORDINARY_RESOLUTION_3_EGM_041114_OHEGARTY)
“In response to the housing crisis and to ensure that the planned house building programme will provide well-built and sustainable homes under a cost-effective Building Control system, we request the Minister for the Environment, Community & Local Government Mr. Alan Kelly TD:
to bring forward the review of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations S.I.9 that is planned for 2015;
to undertake a full Regulatory Impact Analysis of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations;
to review the limitations on self-building that is a constraint on housing supply under the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations.
Proposed by:
Deirdre Lennon
Eamon Hedderman
Vivian Cummins
Orla Hegarty
Eoin O Cofaigh
Michael Collins
Caomhan Murphy
Eoin O’Morain
Joan O’Connor
Brendan Gallagher
(Darren Bergin)
This is the second of the two new motions. It is being proposed by nine of the current RIAI Council members of whom two are RIAI Past Presidents. The original resolution was signed by the Architectural Technologist Member of the RIAI Council, Darren Bergin, but his name was not permitted for inclusion as Architectural Technologists are currently not recognised as full members under the RIAI By-Laws.
Previous posts of interest:
Opinion: “the architectural profession is largely united in opposition to S.I.9″
RIAI EGM | Seven Issues to Consider
BRegs Blog 
Good to see critical actions being proposed by the RIAI Members to address this matter at last.
I endorse a complete revocation, a review from the ground up in terms of the sustainable risk, the involvement of the local authority and the streamlining of the bureaucracy to drastically reduce the number of steps required to procure a building development, while offering the consumer and the public compliant buildings to such a degree that enforcement action is not required.
This should also involve a review of Part L and a re-assessment of the standards required to be reached – with a pacing of their adoption to allow them to be matched with Contractors skillsets throughout the building industry in Ireland, not just on champion projects in Dublin and in isolated areas about the country.
Unfortunately as I am not yet Registered I cannot attend and vote, but I am there in spirit.