- within Law Department Performance, Strategy, Litigation and Mediation & Arbitration topic(s)
Adjudication
SMASH AND GRAB ADJUDICATION
In a significant judgment, the High Court in Ireland confirmed that a paying party's failure to respond to a payment claim notice under a construction contract does not entitle the payee, by default, to an adjudicator's decision directing payment of the amount in the notice. This differs from the situation in the UK, where legislation provides for such a default decision, and adjudications seeking such default decisions are sometimes referred to as "smash and grab" adjudications.
We look at the judgment in our briefing: Construction Law Update: "Smash and grab" adjudications do not arise under Irish Act.
Housing
EU AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN
The European Commission published an Affordable Housing Plan, intended to increase housing supply, trigger investment and reforms, address short-term rentals in areas under housing stress, and support people most affected by the housing crisis. It includes proposals to amend legislation to speed up environmental assessments and accelerate and streamline permitting processes for strategic sectors, including affordable and social housing.
There are plans to promote offsite/modular construction, digitise processes, and modernise construction. The Commission wishes to mobilise more public and private investment to address the housing gap, for example through a Pan-European Investment Platform in cooperation with the EIB. It will also propose amendments to State aid rules to support better access to affordable housing.
Further information, including an Ireland fact sheet, is available here: The European Affordable Housing Plan.
SOCIAL HOUSING
In Ireland, the approval process for social housing projects up to a value of €200 million has been simplified by reducing approval stages and embedding a standardised design approach.
Industry regulation
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY REGISTER
Once section 33 of the Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 is commenced, it will be an offence for a person to engage as a provider of building works unless registered on the Construction Industry Register of Ireland. Applications for registration are expected to open by early 2026. Voluntary registration is currently available.
CONSTRUCTION SERVICES ACT
The European Commission is consulting until 20 April 2026 on the development of a Construction Services Act. The general objective is to foster the free movement of construction and installation services in the single market. It is suggested this could be pursued by means including ensuring that companies, entrepreneurs and professionals are authorised/certified/qualified in their home Member State, can provide services in other Member States seamlessly; fostering a predictable and stable business environment for companies and entrepreneurs; and reducing administrative burden and compliance costs for businesses working in another Member State. The Commission intends to adopt a legislative proposal in Q4 2026.
Health and safety
WORK-RELATED FATALITIES
The Health and Safety Authority reported a sharp rise in work-related fatalities in 2025. These included 10 fatalities in the construction sector.
Sustainability
ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF BUILDINGS DIRECTIVE
The following guidance on implementing the Directive have been formally published. The guidance is intended for Member States but is also relevant for stakeholders involved in implementing the Directive.
- Commission Notice C/2025/6438 providing guidance on new or substantially modified provisions of the recast Directive. It includes 13 annexes on specific matters, including energy performance certificates and independent control systems, zero-emission buildings, solar energy in buildings, and technical building systems, indoor environmental quality and inspections.
- Commission Notice C/2025/6439 - Guidelines accompanying Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2273 to facilitate the application of the revised methodology framework for calculating cost-optimal levels.
All secondary legislation and guidance published to date are available here: Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. In Ireland, the Spring legislative programme (508 KB) includes an Energy Performance of Buildings Directive Bill under legislation for priority drafting and it is expected that Regulations will also be made.
CBAM
Obligations for importers of certain goods (including cement, iron and steel, and aluminium) into the EU under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism ramp up as it became fully operational on 1 January 2026, albeit with certain aspects simplified, as we outlined in our briefing: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: Simplification and Next Steps.
Further information is available here: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. Detailed requirements are in a number of new Implementing Acts published on 17 December 2025, available here: CBAM Legislation and Guidance.
The European Commission is also progressing plans to further develop the CBAM and it has published a proposed Regulation which aims to:
- extend the scope of the CBAM to address the risk of carbon leakage for products further down the value chain of the steel and aluminium products currently in CBAM's scope,
- tackle attempts to avoid compliance with the CBAM obligation,
- improve the technical rules for attributing emissions to electricity with the aim of encouraging the decarbonisation of electricity imports, and
- where needed, provide some simplifications and improvements to the application of the mechanism and to allow for a CBAM integrated area with the EEA EFTA countries.
The Commission also published a proposed Regulation establishing a Temporary Decarbonisation Fund to provide targeted financial support to energy-intensive industries exposed to the remaining risk of carbon leakage. Support will be conditional on decarbonisation investments.
Planned linkage of the EU and UK Emissions Trading Systems should lead to goods originating in both jurisdictions benefiting from mutual exemptions from their respective CBAMs.
CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS REGULATION
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage published an alert service on matters related to the revised Construction Products Regulation (EU) 2024/3110, which applies in Ireland from 8 January 2026 (save for Article 92 on penalties, which applies a year later). The Regulation lays down harmonised rules for the placing and making available on the market of construction products.
In Ireland, European Union (Construction Products) Regulations 2025 (326 KB) have been made to give effect to the revised Regulation and consequential amendments (154 KB) have been made addressing the position as regards the UK.
Legislation programme
SPRING 2026
Legislation for priority publication this session includes (508 KB):
- a Critical Infrastructure Bill to prioritise Government designated critical infrastructure projects through consenting and approval processes. The Bill will also provide for emergency powers to exempt critical infrastructure projects from some approvals and consents or provide alternative means of obtaining approvals and consents, and
- a Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which is said to include amendments to the Building Control Acts.
Legislation for priority drafting includes an EU Deforestation Regulation Bill; a Heat (Networks and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill; an Energy Performance of Buildings Bill; a Land Development Agency (Amendment) Bill to expand the agency's role and remit; and a Building Standards Regulatory Authority Bill.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
