Mr. Michael Lyons:

That could happen. I know from discussions with different colleagues that when a project begins, a consulting engineer practice will have PI insurance. During the course of the construction of the building, it will be inspected and materials will be approved. At the end of the project, depending on the set-up, the assigned certifier may be relying on a fire safety consultant or on another engineer who is acting as the fire safety certifier. In order for the fire safety certifier to issue an opinion of compliance and an ancillary certificate, there will need to be PI cover at the end of the project. If during the course of the project they cannot renew their PI cover, they will not be able to issue the certificate that the rest of the team were relying upon. Either there will be delays, replacements will have to be found or the development of the project will founder.

I have many colleagues who are in the middle of projects and are finding it difficult to get their policies renewed, or in getting the renewal of their policies they are finding that the terms are very heavy. For instance, I have a colleague in Waterford who has been in practice for over 20 years. In 2020, the firm had a PI policy for €6.5 million insurance cover at a cost of €10,000. In 2021, it was offered just €1 million cover and was quoted over €40,000 with a significant number of exclusions attached to it. I will explain the implications of that. If a project the firm is involved in requires having €6.5 million insurance cover, and mid-race it loses that €6.5 million cover, it is no longer able to meet the terms of the contract it entered into at the very beginning of the project. In the case of a housing estate worth €2 million, €3 million or €4 million, the firm can no longer cover the fire safety risk that the policy was intended to cover because its level of cover has been reduced to €1 million. In addition, the exclusions that have been attached to the policy may mean that the engineering firm cannot certify the external walls or something like that. It could have something to do with some aspect of the construction. Current projects could be under threat. Certainly, the ability of fire safety engineering firms to get involved in new projects is most definitely at risk.