A report on legislation aimed at settling payment disputes in the construction sector shows that there were 61 applications made for the appointment of adjudicators in the year to 25 July 2023.

The chair of the Construction Contracts Adjudication Panel, solicitor Bernard Gogarty (small picture), appointed 57 adjudicators on foot of these applications, under the Construction Contracts Act 2013.

The report said that the number of applications and adjudicator appointments was the second-highest in the panel’s seven years of operation.

The report shows that, in 33 cases, the case referred for adjudication involved a sub-contractor in dispute with a main contractor, with the referral being made by the sub-contractor.

Final payments

Most of the cases involved disputes over final or interim payments.

The highest number of disputes (21) concerned sums totalling between €100,000 and €500,000, while in four cases the sums involved ranged from €1 million to €5 million.

Adjudicators issued rulings in 45 cases, with 30 decided in favour of the party that referred the dispute. The responding party was successful in six cases, and there was a split decision between the parties in nine disputes.

A decision was issued within 28 days of the date of the referral of the dispute to the adjudicator in 18 cases. Another 16 decisions came within 42 days.

There were 11 cases in which the decision was issued after a longer period, with the agreement of the parties.

In most cases, the adjudicator charged an hourly fee of between €200 and €400.