- within Law Department Performance and Antitrust/Competition Law topic(s)
Adjudication
RESIDENTIAL OCCUPIER EXCEPTION
The High Court granted an application to enforce an adjudicator's decision in BMC Renovation Ltd (“contractor”) v Gael Property Investments Ltd (“employer”) [2026] IEHC 195 (PDF 328KB). The judgment provides helpful clarification on issues relevant to the Construction Contracts Act 2013 and the conduct of adjudications, which we consider in our insights post: Construction Law Update: Adjudication judgment confirms that a company cannot avail of the residential occupier exception.
Legislation
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
The Government published a Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026 and Circulars, following on from the Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan (PDF 7.8MB). The Bill aims to address delay, fragmentation and sequencing risks in the delivery of State infrastructure. We consider the Bill in our insights post: Accelerating Infrastructure: Critical Infrastructure Bill and Circulars.
In addition to the circulars mentioned in our post, a further circular was published. Circular 1/2026: Early Warning System regarding EU Legislative Change on Critical Infrastructure sets out protocols to ensure early cross-departmental communication on EU legislative changes with the potential to affect development of critical national infrastructure.
LEGISLATION PROGRAMME
The Summer programme lists the following for priority publication:
- the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to amend the Housing Acts in respect of social housing eligibility and to amend the Building Control Acts, and
- the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill to amend the Planning and Development Act 2024 to allow for its continued commencement and transition from the Planning and Development Act 2000 and to progress actions arising from the Critical Infrastructure Action Plan.
The programme lists the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive Bill for priority drafting.
FIRE SAFETY
The Department is consulting until 24 April 2026 on a review of the Fire Safety in Places of Assembly (Ease of Escape) Regulations 1985. The intent is to update the management of places of assembly with respect to fire safety. Further information is available here: Fire Safety in Places of Assembly (Ease of Escape) Regulations.
Sustainability
ENERGY EFFICIENCY FIRST PRINCIPLE
Commission Recommendation (EU) 2026/839 sets out guidelines for the design of cost-benefit methodologies for the application of the energy efficiency first principle pursuant to Article 3(6) of the Recast Energy Efficiency Directive. Article 3 requires Member States to ensure that energy efficiency solutions, including demand-side resources and system flexibilities, are assessed in planning, policy and major investment decisions of a value of more than €100 million each (or €175 million for transport infrastructure projects).
GREEN CLAIMS
S.I. No. 124/2026 - European Union (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition) Regulations 2026 have been made to give effect to Directive (EU) 2024/825 as regards empowering consumers for the green transition through better protection against unfair practices and through better information. The amendments are intended to enhance transparency, ensure that consumers receive accurate and reliable information on environmental attributes of goods, and prohibit misleading or unsubstantiated practices.
Capital works management framework
BIM
A document setting out Information Manager (BIM) role profiles has been published to provide guidance on the competencies, experience and qualifications required for information management roles across the project lifecycle. Information management / BIM adoption support packs have also been published.
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