What decides who is on a Dublin list

Is this really their trade?

We begin with the work a firm does day in, day out. A builder who fits the odd attic ladder is not an attic conversion company, and a practice that sees the occasional child is not a paediatric physiotherapist. Firms doing the exact job go first. Firms for whom it is a side line come lower or not at all.

Some lists are deliberately narrow. Pre-NCT check garages are garages that prepare cars for the test as routine work, and grind schools are schools that coach for the Leaving Cert, not general tutors.

What the public record shows

Next we look at what customers say about a firm in public. Praise that lasts is worth more than a sudden burst of it, so a few glowing comments in one month do not outrank years of steady approval. Dublin has a busy rental market, and a firm still well spoken of after several generations of tenants has earned it. We pay attention to practical things: a price that matched the final bill, a tradesperson who arrived on the day promised, a crèche that spelled out its fees before the first week.

What the firm tells you itself

Then we turn to the firm’s own website and social channels. We look for plain statements of what it does and does not do, where it works, how it charges and which registrations, certificates or insurance it holds. A heating firm that names its gas installer scheme, a GP practice that says whether it is taking new patients or a tutor that states the subjects and levels taught gives you a concrete basis for comparing firms and for holding them to what they say.

Nobody pays to be chosen

Where a firm sits on a list is an editorial call grounded in merit, and we look at it again now and then. Payment cannot buy a firm a place or alter how we judge it. Once a firm has been chosen it may take Pro, its own fuller page, or Top, a position among the first three of its list. Both carry a label.

Look it up before you hire

Gas and electrical. Gas work, boilers included, should be done by an installer on the Registered Gas Installer (RGI) scheme, who gives you a Declaration of Conformance Certificate afterwards. Electrical work at home should be done by a Registered Electrical Contractor on the Safe Electric scheme, who issues a completion certificate. Both schemes have an online register.

Building and energy. Builders are not licensed in Ireland, so ask who will certify an extension or an attic conversion. The assigned certifier should be a registered architect (RIAI), building surveyor (SCSI) or chartered engineer (Engineers Ireland), each with a public register. A BER certificate must come from an assessor on the SEAI register. For a grant, the installer must be registered with SEAI for that type of work, and you should wait for the grant offer before work starts.

Health. Doctors, GPs and surgeons included, are on the Medical Council’s register, which shows each doctor’s division and specialty. Dentists and dental specialists are on the Dental Council’s registers and nurses on the Nursing and Midwifery Board’s. CORU registers physiotherapists, podiatrists and chiropodists, opticians, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and dietitians. Nutritionist, counsellor and psychotherapist are not protected titles, so ask about training and professional membership. Botox is a prescription medicine, so ask who prescribes it and who injects it.

Care and childcare. Nursing homes are registered and inspected by HIQA, and crèches and pre-schools by Tusla’s Early Years Inspectorate. Both publish inspection reports.

Law, property and money. Solicitors are listed in the Law Society of Ireland’s Find a Solicitor directory. Auctioneers, estate agents, letting agents and managing agents need a PSRA licence, and the PSRA publishes a register. Mortgage brokers, insurance brokers and financial advisers should be authorised or registered with the Central Bank of Ireland, whose online register shows which.

Road, security and rubbish. Driving instructors who teach learners must be Approved Driving Instructors on the RSA’s register. Locksmiths, alarm and CCTV installers and security guard companies need a Private Security Authority licence. Anyone who takes away your rubbish must hold a waste collection permit, so hand waste only to a permitted collector.

Vets and weddings. Vets are on the Veterinary Council of Ireland’s register. To marry legally, your celebrant must be on the General Register Office’s Register of Solemnisers, and couples give a Civil Registration Service office at least three months’ notice.

We do not check every registration ourselves. Looking one up before you sign or pay takes a few minutes.