Audit discovers hundreds of illegal architects

logo_riaiMore than 300 people are illegally trading as architects in Ireland, according to a review of the profession. The revelation of malpractice by hundreds of unregistered architects came after the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) conducted an internal audit of the profession.

The RIAI is to write to each of the 300 people trading illegally, advising them that it is a criminal offence to practise as an architect without completing the registration process, which was introduced in 2009 under the Building Control Act 2007. mOffending practitioners would first be invited to apply for registration, the institute’s registrar John Graby told The Sunday Business Post.

The RIAI examined a litany of sources, including professional directories, local newspaper advertisements and other public notices, and cross-referenced the names they discovered with the official register containing the details of all 2,600 registered architects. As many as 200 of those found to be trading illegally under the title ‘‘architect’’, which is protected under statute, had never obtained any form of recognised qualification in architecture.

The remaining 100 were people who had formal college qualifications but who had not gone through the registration process for various reasons, Graby said.

The Sunday Business Post