ONLY 600 CONSTRUCTION companies out of an expected 20,000 have registered with the body entrusted with cracking down on “cowboy builders” in the last ten years.

The small number of builders that have signed up for the voluntary register, introduced by lobby group the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) in 2014, highlights a need to introduce the replacement, compulsory register.

The compulsory register, which would give greater protections to consumers, was originally earmarked for last year, but there is still no date has yet been set for its commencement.

Although housing minister James Browne has said that he hopes it will be introduced this year, CIF do not expect it to be up and running before early next year

When introduced, it will be mandatory for all providers of any building works, such as construction companies, builders, specialists and trades people, to be registered.

Consumers can then verify the validity of companies or contractors using the online resource.

Providers may be sole traders, partnerships, companies, corporations, special purpose vehicles, subsidiaries and joint ventures, according to CIF, which will also become the industry regulator. 

Promises made by CIF and Housing Minister James Browne around the timeline are now being questioned, given that it already now seven months into 2025.

Housing minister James Browne told Limerick City TD Conor Sheehan last week that approximately 600 building companies have signed up to a voluntary register, set up by CIF in 2014.

CIF previously told The Irish Daily Mail in January that it was expecting up to 20,000 firms to eventually sign up to its mandatory register.

Sheehan told The Journal that without a compulsory database, consumers have “no protection from cowboy builders”. He described the voluntary register as a “chocolate fireguard”.

“People have had their homes wrecked by a minority of unscrupulous builders,” he said, adding that the public need to have the correct protections against “defective builders and defective buildings”.

Register not available for two more years

The Journal how now learned that the mandatory register may not be made available to the public until early 2027, despite Browne claiming last week that work on the compulsory list would begin this year.

Previous reporting suggested the register would commence last year.

CIF, a representative organisation for the construction industry, told The Journal it anticipated that the register won’t open until early next year.

A spokesperson said: “In consultation with, and approval from, the Department of Housing, it is anticipated that applications for [mandatory register] will open by early 2026 with a phased approach.”

Consumers will be able to verify trusted practitioners using the database after a 12 registration month period, CIF said.

This means the public may not gain access to the register until early 2027.

It is understood that firms involved in the construction of scheme homes, such as new housing estate developments with a certain number of units allocated to social housing, will be invited to sign up to the mandatory register first.

Asked about the extended timeline, Sheehan said: “I’m shocked, but I’m not surprised. You can’t have a lobby group as a regulator.”

CIF was appointed as the statutory registration body for a compulsory register of the sector in January 2023. The Construction Industry Register Ireland will be an online resource for public and private procurement of buildings and related services.

Plans for a compulsory register came after the introduction of the Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 which seeks to crack down on so-called cowboy builders and “promote a culture of competence” in the sector.

Sheehan said that the legislation has since gone from “weak to useless”. He intends to introduce stronger legislation that puts the register’s control with the National Buildings Control Office and tougher penalties for rogue builders.