Public Affairs Digest: June

08 July 2026 By Donal O'Neill

The ACEI continued to push the political system in June to improve the environment for consulting engineers.

Overview:

Accelerating Infrastructure

The Secretariat submitted a report on delays and issues on the ground to Sean O’Driscoll and Imelda Mannion of the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce including key topics of concern around NCCs and median-priced tendering.
The ACEI, through the CIC, submitted information relating to delays on the ground when dealing with contracting authorities to the Dept of Public Expenditure.
DG, Shane Dempsey met with Assistant Secretary, Jasmina Behan to outline delays and challenges around contractual and procurement practices (listed above).
The ACEI attended the Construction Sector Group (led by the Department of Public Expenditure and involving all Government Departments engaged in capital investment. When there, the ACEI made the case for proportionate liability and the need for better contractual conditions for those engaged in HFA projects.
DG Shane Dempsey will participate in the Department’s ‘Accelerating Infrastructure Productivity’ working group (7th July).
ACEI Secretariat attended the DPER Infrastructure Conference on 8th July to hear from Minister Chambers on the work being done at department level to allocate risk more fairly and increase the risk appetite for project delivery.

DOEY Clearing House

Following feedback from members, ongoing negotiations with the DoEY relating to late payments and legacy projects remain productive with weekly meetings now occurring between the Department and the ACEI.
This has been a particularly important issue for many of our SME firms where the payment structure of DoEY has a more significant impact.
In this light, there was a webinar on 30th June with DoEY on its plans for changes to ways of working and we’ll be sending round key highlights to member firms in the coming weeks.
The ACEI is seeking to establish similar clearing houses with the OPW

Contractual issues – NCCs / HFA collateral warranties

The ACEI has written to the Law Society to address issues where legal firms are advising their clients to disregard ACEI’s Conditions of Engagement documents.
The ACEI has also submitted a query to the Construction Sector Capacity and Procurement Unit in relation to the use of unfair contractual terms by the HFA.
The ACEI has also requested a follow up meeting with the Department of Housing and Minister for Housing on the HFA’s unfair contractual terms. This follows a meeting in Leinster House in January this year.
The ACEI and other professional bodies will soon be launching a joint communique on the need for NCCs in public sector contracts.

Queries

The ACEI addressed procurement issues on behalf of members with the National Transport Authority, TII, HFA and LDA in the past month.

Upcoming meetings:

The ACEI will meet with the Department of Transport on July 16th following a request by Minister Darragh O’ Brien.
DG Shane Dempsey will attend a forum in the Department of An Taoiseach’s ‘Industry Capability Working Group’.

If you need support or guidance on any issue affecting your firm, please contact DG, Shane Dempsey or Senior Policy Advisor, Dónal O’Neill. We’re here to help.