Move to exempt unlicensed architects from test criticised
A Bill to exempt unlicensed architects from compulsory assessment for registration has been criticised as unnecessary by the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland.The legislation would undermine consumer confidence and protection, the RIAI claims. Former ceann comhairle John O’Donoghue introduced a Private Members’ Bill to amend the Building Control Act 2007, which legally protects the word “architect” and requires all practitioners to register with the institute.
The Building Control (Amendment) Bill provides a “grandfather clause” for self-trained architects to retain their official status. Mr O’Donoghue said the Bill would “prevent hundreds of working architects from losing out on their official status because they pursued a different route to qualification”.
Registrar of the RIAI John Graby said there was already a grandfather clause in the legislation. Registration included assessment by a technical board which he described as “fair, accessible, structured, independent and based on expert assessment”. But the Architects’ Alliance, a group set up by established self-trained architects in the wake of the 2007 Act, disputes the independence of the process.
