‍Conference Chairperson & Opening Remarks

Proposed Reform of Competition Law in Ireland

• Competition law offence of bid-rigging
• Increased enforcement powers and rights for the Irish competition regulator

Alan McCarthy, Partner, A&L Goodbody LLP

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Price increases – especially material price increases post Brexit

• Material prices increases and the PWC/RIAI/NEC contracts
• Inflation Clauses- Long deleted from contracts.
• Inflation pressures on materials and commodities with contracts over a short period.
• This hit particularly when the industry  restarted following the 4-month Covid shut down in q1 2021.

Robert Rooney, Associate, A&L Goodbody LLP

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Force Majeure – What we have learned and what needs to change?

• Private Works Contract
• RIAI revised Contract

Alison Bearpark, Partner, Ronan Daly Jermyn

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New Construction Contracts a changing landscape or more of the same?

• Private Works Contract  
• RIAI revised Contract (what to expect)

Karen Killoran, partner in the Construction and Engineering Group, Arthur Cox

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Professional indemnity insurance

•  Coverage is harder to get,
• Amounts of cover are falling. How to draft and negotiate clauses,
•  What to do if cover cannot be maintained

Hugh Cummins, Partner, Philip Lee

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Adjudication – some contemporary issues:

• Are adjudication costs a barrier to the system, should there be a max fee?
• In adjudication, are there consequences for not issuing a Pay Less Notice?
• Dealing with adjudication procedural matters: Notice; jurisdiction, meetings.
• What happens after the Adjudicator’s Decision?

Niall Lawless, Chartered Arbitrator and Engineer, Adjudicator, Mediator at Adjudication Solutions Limited

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Conciliation - how can conciliation survive with the speed and binding nature of Adjudication?

• Advantages and popularity of Conciliation over Adjudication in Ireland
• How Conciliation and Adjudication can work side by side for you
• Feedback on Conciliation from the industry, the importance of maintaining relationships.
• Conciliation is an ‘Art’, what to look for in a Conciliator /Standing Conciliator
• How can you approach Conciliation strategically?
• Evidence in construction disputes
• Important role of facts and evidence in construction dispute resolution

Billy Morrissey BE LLMFCIArb, Chairperson Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ireland Branch)

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Mica – Building Defects

• Overview of problem and current status of redress scheme
• Legal barriers to compensation for remedial works, including privity of contract and liability periods
• The relevance of any implied terms within construction contracts and design team appointments
• Contractual position in relation to latent defects and relevant case law
• The current law on discoverability in Ireland, as compared with the UK. Is it time Ireland introduced a discoverability test for the clock to start ticking on how long a homeowner has to bring a claim for defective work or materials?

Jamie Ritchie, LK Shields