This personal viewpoint is my opinion on how to maintain the self-building industry in Ireland. This plan of action could easily be implemented as an adjusted form of SI80

In order to maintain the self building industry (remember that 60% of houses in Ireland are constructed on a self-build basis (Nasba figures)); a possible way forward that takes into account all the Building Regulations Reform debate could be:

* Mandatory training for self-builders.

This will be a requirement to be included on the CIF Contractors Register and I would suggest similar training in order to self-build on your own. This form of training (and a contractors register) is already in existence through the Passive House Institute where they conduct the Passive House Tradesmen course. Any proposed training courses would (I believe) be similar in content to the Passive House Tradesmen course but would also include information on ordering materials, sequencing trades etc… Completion of a recognised course such as the PassiveHouse Tradesmen could also be taken as a credit on requisite training.

* Mandatory Latent Defects Insurance Policy

A possible solution to the Latents Defects Insurance is for insurers to provide a policy specifically for self-builders (as they do in the UK with the NHBC Solo Policy)

* Temporary inclusion on the CIF Contractors Register

If the CIF Contractors Register comes into force a method of including self-builders is that they can be included in the register on a temporary basis. Remember that the Contractors Register could also include sub-contractors for specific trades and the self-builder will be calling upon these in order to complete their project. This temporary registration (say for a year but extendable) would be additional income for the CIF.