LAUNCH OF SOCIETY OF CHARTERED SURVEYORS IRELAND – THE COUNTRYS LARGEST ORGANISATION FOR PROPERTY AND CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS
NEW PRESIDENT SAYS FOCUS WILL BE ON PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND REGULATION
CALLS FOR SETTING UP OF PROPERTY REGISTER AND RATES REFORM
Tuesday 12th April 2011. The first President of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland has said a ‘back to basics’ approach will put the property and construction sector on a sustainable footing and yield dividends in the medium to long term.
The new Society has come about as a result of a merger between the Society of Chartered Surveyors and the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute. The 4,000 strong Society will be the largest organisation in the country for professionals in the construction and property sector.
John Curtin the new Society’s first President said it was clear the country would be paying for the mistakes which were made across the economy for quite some time and while there was no magic formula it was now time to roll up the sleeves and come up with solutions.
‘As professionals in the property and construction sector we are not immune from criticism for our involvement in the creation of an unsustainable property market. We have to take those lessons on board and the main objectives for the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland will be to use our greater resources to maintain the highest professional standards and enforce regulation of our members. Our overriding priority however must be to act in the public’s best interests at all times’.
Curtin said it was an exciting day for the profession and he hoped it marked the beginning of a more positive narrative for the property and construction sector.
“A lot of the groundwork for reform has now been done but we need to move on and take the next steps. These include the setting up of a property register, the establishment of a commercial property database and reform of the way rates are levied on commercial premises. But we also need imaginative intervention to kick start the construction sector, to create employment and ensure the skills and expertise built up over the last 20 years are not lost” Curtin concluded.
Three hundred invited guests attended the launch of the Society of Chartered Surveyors at the Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Road. The Chairman of the National Asset Management Agency Frank Daly was guest speaker. The last President of the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute, Kersten Mehl and his counterpart in the Society of Chartered Surveyors, Peter Stapleton also spoke at the event.
Ciara Murphy is the Director General of the Society which will be based at 38, Merrion Square in Dublin.
Members of both the SCS and IAVI voted to merge both organizations last Summer.
The Society of Chartered Surveyors will maintain its strong relationship with RICS – the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors - the leading internationally recognised body for professionals in the construction and property sectors.
For Further Information,
Contact Kieran Garry,
Gordon MRM,
01/6650455 or 087/2368366