Qualified welcome for register

Architects: While welcoming the proposed new register of architects, the report cautions that this should not be implemented in such a way as to act as a barrier to entry to the profession.

Under the Building Control Bill, existing members of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) will automatically be transferred to the register as will members of four other architects bodies - the Group of Independent Architects in Ireland (GIAI), the Irish Architects Society, the Architects and Surveyors Institute and the Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors.

However the manner in which some members of the GIAI and other independent architects are assessed for entry to the register needs clarification as it could serve as a barrier to entry to the profession in the future, the report concludes.

Although the RIAI does not publish a scale of charges, it does publish information on charges based on surveys and market rates. This practice could restrict competition in the marketplace. The most effective way of obtaining fee information is either by obtaining quotations directly or through advertising of fees, according to the report.

The other area identified as being likely to limit competition is the RIAI's restriction on media advertising by its members. The consultants conclude the lifting of such restrictions would encourage new players to enter the market.

Mr John Graby, director of the RIAI, said his organisation would be examining any issues that were identified as being anti-competitive. "We are pleased to see that there is relatively little restriction in the architects profession," he said.