Architects' Alliance of Ireland
Encyclopedia
The Architects' Alliance of Ireland (AAoI) is an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 pressure group founded in 2009. Its purpose is to lobby for a change in recent legislation in Ireland.

Part 3 of the Building Control Act 2007 requires long-established self-trained architects to undergo assessments before continuing to practice. The Alliance regards the present assessment test as inappropriate and overly expensive. It sees itself as in conflict with the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland
Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland
The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland founded in 1839, is the competent authority for architects and professional body for Architecture in the Republic of Ireland....

.

The foundation and aims of the Alliance

The Architects' Alliance of Ireland (AAoI) was formed at the start of 2009 in response to Part 3 of the Building Control Act 2007. The Act sought for the first time to control the use of the term "architect" in the Republic of Ireland. The group is lobbying for an amendment of the legislation to restore the prior status of self-trained architects. In May 2010 it gave evidence before an Oireachtas
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...

 (national parliament) committee, the Joint Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

The Alliance has declared its founders to be Leonard Barrett (Midleton), Liam Hazel (Skibbereen), Brian Montaut (Bray) and Adrian Turner (Athlone).

The group is arguing for a grandfather clause
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...

 and is lobbying for an amendment to that effect before the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland
Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland
The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland founded in 1839, is the competent authority for architects and professional body for Architecture in the Republic of Ireland....

 (RIAI), TD
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...

s, Ministers and the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

. It claims to have found inconsistencies in the legislation and its implementation, and has complained to the Irish Government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...

, the Competition Authority of Ireland
Competition Authority (Ireland)
The Competition Authority is the statutory body responsible for regulating competition in the Republic of Ireland. The authority was established under the Section 10 of the to assume the functions of the defunct Fair Trade Commission. The changed the authority from an office of the Department of...

, and European Commission.
The lobbying efforts of the Alliance gained the support of John O'Donoghue
John O'Donoghue (politician)
John O'Donoghue is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Kerry South constituency from 1987 to 2011. He is a former Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas. He resigned as Ceann Comhairle on 13 October 2009 due to controversy about his...

 TD who has tabled The Building Control (Amendment) Bill 2010. The bill awaits its second reading and proposes the inclusion of a grandfather clause within the legislation.

AAoI is concerned about the RIAI having a monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...

 on architecture in the Republic of Ireland. The AAoI claims that the registration system set up by the RIAI favours the Institution's own members while discriminating against others, especially self-taught architects. The cost for the Irish Prescribed Register Examination called ARAE for self-trained architects is €11,500 + €2,000 (seminars) compared to €3,500 in The Netherlands. The "Technical Assessment" is an examination for self-trained architects with more than 10 years of experience prior to the enforcement of architects’ registration. AAoI claims that the fees are inappropriate (€6,500), and that the RIAI is manipulating the procedure by setting up academic and administrative standards that do not reflect the practice of architecture before the implementation of registration.

Background

Although in 2006 the Competition Authority of Ireland had recommended the creation of an Architects Council of Ireland to be independent of the RIAI, the 2007 Act left the RIAI as the registration body, albeit with various safeguards. The Irish legislation states that practitioners with a minimum of 7 years of experience but without recognised formal qualification must be assessed through an examination to continue practising in the State. The AAoI considers the examination as inappropriate and exclusionary. The current system allows RIAI members to be automatically registered.

AAoI wants a grandfather clause to be included in the Act for an automatic registration of self-trained professionals who have practised as architects for a minimum of 7 years within the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. European countries such as the UK, France, Belgium, Italy, when first implementing the registration of architects, have included a grandfather clause in their legislation. Legal opinion provided to AAoI advises that such a change would not be in conflict with European Union law.

Critics and oppositions

The architectural professional bodies assert that, until the 2007 Act, clients were put at risk from “cowboy” operators and there were no disciplinary controls over individuals outside the professional bodies. The RIAI oppose the proposed amendment of the Building Control Act 2007. Their position is that:" The Building Control Act marks a key shift in widening access to the profession by introducing access to those who have not pursued the standard higher education route. There is a registered admission examination and technical assessment. Up to 1966, entry to the architecture profession could be gained through the RIAI examination system but there has been a general shift towards formal qualifications. The pendulum has swung back to some degree with the shift to an outcomes-based assessment in higher education and away from the input model. The Building Control Act has both models, input from qualifications and output based on the assessment obtained without formal education."

The RIAI opposes the Building Control (Amendment) Bill 2010. The Institute's position is that the proposed legislation, if enacted, would be in breach of EU law. The Institute organised political lobbying against the Bill issuing statements that the proposed amendment damages Irish architects and Irish architecture, that it undermines consumers' protection, and that it disadvantages younger architectural graduates. The documents also list some information about the register which is contested by AAoI.

Status

The number of individuals and practices joinning the association has grown from a dozen to more than a hundred. Some registered architects and many engineers, technicians or surveyors are also supporting the cause of AAoI.

The association declares "protecting diversity and promoting choice in Irish Architecture", it also claims "promoting and protecting the provision of architectural services in Ireland". Some members have suggested that the group should develop into a professional representative body.

External links

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