Dodgy Contractors - Need for criminal as well as civil penalties (work in progress)

PQs tabled and awaiting reply

To ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider introducing a mandatory licensing system for domestic building contractors, including verification of identity, beneficial ownership, insurance, qualifications and previous trading names, in order to protect homeowners from fraud and repeat offenders; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the full commencement of the Regulation of Providers of Building Works Act 2022; whether he intends to make registration mandatory for all contractors undertaking domestic building work; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will examine the introduction of statutory controls on deposits and advance payments for domestic building work, including mandatory insurance-backed guarantees; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Minister for Justice if he will discuss with the Garda Commissioner the need to establish a dedicated investigative framework within An Garda Síochána for suspected organised fraud within the construction and home‑improvement sector, including cases involving multiple trading names or linked individuals; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Minister for Justice if he will examine mechanisms to ensure that information from Garda investigations, court judgments and regulatory bodies can be used to identify repeat offenders in the construction sector and prevent them from re‑establishing under new business identities; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Minister for Justice if he will consider legislative amendments to ensure that deliberate misrepresentation of qualifications, insurance, accreditation or business identity by contractors can be better prosecuted as fraud rather than treated solely as a civil matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will review the gap between obtaining a civil judgment against a contractor and actually recovering the money owed and consider measures to restrict contractors with significant unpaid judgments from continuing to undertake substantial domestic building work; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will consider establishing a national register of outstanding civil judgments relating to domestic building work, accessible to consumers and regulators, to prevent repeat harm; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will examine the feasibility of mandatory insurance verification for all contractors advertising domestic building services, rather than relying on self‑declared claims; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Minister for Finance if he will consider requiring enhanced transparency in company registration for construction‑sector businesses, including mandatory disclosure of previous trading names, directors, beneficial owners and any outstanding consumer liabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Minister for Finance if he will examine whether individuals who repeatedly dissolve companies while leaving unresolved consumer liabilities should face restrictions on establishing new construction‑related businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter.