Comprehensive Practice Silos
Specialist Construction Law, Adjudication & Regulatory Solutions
Bridging technical construction practice and statutory construction law across the Republic of Ireland. Delivering cash-flow protection, 28-day adjudication, and audit-ready BCAR sign-offs.
Statutory Adjudication Under the Construction Contracts Act 2013
Introduced to eradicate unfair payment cycles and protect contractor solvency, the Construction Contracts Act 2013 provides an absolute statutory right for any party to a construction contract to refer a payment-related dispute to adjudication at any time.
Adjudication delivers an independent, legally binding determination within 28 days of referral. The decision is enforceable summarily in the Irish High Court, making it the most lethal and cost-effective mechanism for releasing withheld funds without years of courtroom paralysis.
Dispute Matters Eligible for Accelerated Adjudication:
- Interim Payment Disputes: Failure to pay the claim sum or serve a valid statutory response notice.
- Disputed Variations: Scope alterations instructed on site without formal employer pricing approval.
- Extension of Time & Delay Claims: Critical path disruption and recovery of prolongation loss and expense.
- Termination & Final Account Impasses: Disputed set-off deductions and wrongful termination damages.
Statutory Right of Work Suspension
Under Section 7 of the Act, if an interim payment is not paid in full by the due date and no valid notice of intention to pay a lesser amount was given, the unpaid contractor has the legal right to suspend works upon giving 14 days’ written notice. We draft and serve bulletproof statutory notices to secure immediate payment without risking breach of contract claims.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
The Four Construction Mediation Modalities
Known as the "Gentle Touch" of dispute resolution, mediation offers a voluntary, flexible, and strictly confidential forum that concludes in a legally binding and enforceable commercial contract.
Evaluative Mediation & Conciliation
An analytical, expert-led process where our construction law mediator rigorously examines the contractual clauses, site logs, and technical reports to provide an objective appraisal of each party’s courtroom chances.
Practical Case Scenario:
A main contractor claims extensive variation expenses for unforeseen ground rock. The evaluative mediator reviews the site investigation geotechnical disclosures to deliver a frank, impartial reality check on the claim's true legal validity.
Facilitative Mediation
The mediator focuses on breaking communication deadlocks, drawing out fundamental business drivers, and assisting both parties in formulating their own creative, mutually satisfactory compromise without imposing judgment.
Practical Case Scenario:
An architect and building contractor reach a bitter impasse regarding aesthetic façade changes. The facilitative mediator guides both parties to voice design visions and constructability constraints, achieving an agreed revision within budget.
Therapeutic Mediation
Addresses deep-seated relational breakdowns and emotional animosity. Designed specifically for long-term commercial partners whose collaboration is threatened by a single troubled contract.
Practical Case Scenario:
A major residential scheme suffers severe inflation delays, sparking bitter personal animosity between the developer and principal builder after 15 years of partnership. Mediation decompresses frustrations and rebuilds professional trust.
Settlement Mediation
A pragmatic, hard-nosed financial negotiation focused strictly on quantum compromises, cash-flow timelines, and commercial closing figures to protect contractor solvency.
Practical Case Scenario:
A developer and fit-out contractor argue over extra fees following extensive scope expansion. The settlement mediator calculates verifiable expenses and guides both parties to a commercial compromise that keeps the contractor profitable.
BCAR Compliance & Assigned Certifier Liaison
Under the Irish Building Control (Amendment) Regulations (BCAR), the statutory Assigned Certifier oversees compliance from commencement to handover. Minor oversights in documentation or inspection sequencing can delay the validation of the Certificate of Compliance on Completion (CCC) on the Building Control Management System (BCMS), halting building occupation and commercial refinance.
- Inspection Plan Formulation: Aligning site construction programmes with the Assigned Certifier’s mandatory gateway inspection stages.
- Ancillary Certificate Management: Systematically tracking, auditing, and compiling Part L, Part B fire safety, and structural ancillary certificates from all specialist sub-contractors.
- Technical Intermediary: Resolving on-site queries and design divergences before they trigger non-compliance notifications.
Integrated Single-Contract Delivery
Contract Management & Cost Control
Moving away from fragmented construction management. We operate an integrated 3-stage governance model across standard Irish contract suites (RIAI, PWC, JCT 2016).
Stage 1: Strategic Planning
Establishing rock-solid project baselines, aligning commercial procurement routes, defining condition precedents, and setting clear budgetary milestones before site possession.
Stage 2: Project Setup
Contract proofreading, eliminating onerous pay-when-paid clauses, setting up formal change order systems, and drafting standard notice templates to protect contractual rights.
Stage 3: Execution & Delivery
Active variation management, formal Cost Warnings, extension of time tracking, payment certificate enforcement, and defect liability administration through to final account sign-off.
Expert Witness & Toxic Project Recovery
When construction projects deteriorate into severe delay, hostility, or formal arbitral and court proceedings, PM Project Management delivers robust independent technical reports and forensic evidence compliant with judicial evidentiary requirements.
- Critical Path Delay Analysis: As-built versus as-planned forensic programme analysis to establish true delay causation and loss/expense.
- Toxic Project Firefighting: Immediate managerial intervention stepping onto hostile sites to pacify subcontractors and realign programmes.
- PSCS Health & Safety Compliance: Statutory fulfillment of Project Supervisor Construction Stage duties under Irish safety legislation.
- Oral Testimony & Cross-Examination: Authoritative presentation before arbitral tribunals, conciliations, and High Court commercial proceedings.
Commercial Engagement Models
Structured Service Plans & Retainers
Transparent fee structures tailored to support trade sub-contractors, main contractors, and institutional property developers throughout live contracts.
Pay-As-You-Go Service
Flexible, hourly or milestone-based advisory designed specifically for trade specialists requiring urgent, focused intervention without long-term overheads.
- Emergency dispute triage
- Drafting statutory payment notices
- Pre-contract sub-contract reviews
- Assistance with live variation disputes
SME Retainer Plan
Continuous monthly commercial governance providing ongoing claims defence, condition-precedent tracking, and payment security throughout a live build.
- Dedicated construction law manager
- Monthly payment claim audit & notices
- Real-time variation & EOT logs
- Direct phone access 7 days a week
- Priority statutory adjudication referral
Corporate SLA
Comprehensive governance agreement for tier-1 building contractors and institutional developers managing high-value or multi-phase joint venture schemes.
- Full BCAR & Assigned Certifier team
- Toxic project recovery & site firefighting
- PSCS health & safety statutory governance
- Expert witness tribunal representation
Facing a Live Contract Dispute or BCAR Bottleneck?
Do not allow contractual notice deadlines to expire. Speak directly with senior construction law leadership for an immediate, confidential assessment.