Tim Murnane, Managing Director of PUNCH Consulting Engineers, has been elected President of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI) at its Annual General Meeting.

In his inaugural speech, Tim outlined two imperatives for the ACEI and Consulting Engineering sector during his presidential term.

“We must strengthen the community of consulting engineers and place a renewed focus on the business of consulting engineering. If we do these two things well, we will build a stronger, more sustainable, and impactful sector. We, as a sector, deliver a vital component of every hospital, house, road, railway, data centre, and school that is built in every community in Ireland. We must work harder so our clients, policy makers and the public understand more fully the value of our sector and its work.”

Calling for greater unity and engagement, the new President issued a “call to arms” to all Irish consulting engineering firms:

“We want to ensure all consulting engineering firms in Ireland are members of the ACEI. We are currently working collectively to shape the environment for members particularly in bringing about a fairer contractual environment for our members. There are too many situations where unfair contractual conditions are being foisted on members with inappropriate transfer of risk that consulting engineers cannot mitigate. This leads to delays and budget overruns and benefits no-one – particularly in the face of an acute housing, infrastructure, and climate crisis. The ACEI is working at a national level to influence procurement policy to have Net Contribution Clauses introduced into Public Sector contracts. We are also engaging individual client organisations on behalf of members to ensure fairer contracts for everyone involved in the delivery of housing for example. We need all consulting engineers to “pull on the county jersey” and make themselves familiar with the ACEI’s standard conditions of engagement/collateral warranty and to use them in engaging with their clients. Where they feel, their clients are unwilling to engage then they should contact the ACEI. We need to work together on this critical issue, so we have the capacity and conditions to deliver on essential housing and infrastructure projects on behalf of the State in the coming decade.”

Tim also urged sector leaders to invest in the business skills of the next generation of consulting engineers. ACEI provides a suite of learning and development interventions, including leadership and graduate programmes delivered by industry leaders. A report from 2021, entitled ‘Bridging the Gap’ set out a stark situation where consulting engineers in Ireland lag their peers in professional services in terms of compensation. The report outlined the need to enhance the sector’s business skills particularly newly graduated and younger professionals.

The AGM was held at the Egis Road and Tunnel Operation Control Centre in Dublin. Tim Murnane succeeds outgoing President Anne-Marie Conibear, marking the beginning of a new chapter in ACEI leadership.

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Michael McDonnell Managing Editor of Irish Construction Industry Magazine & Plan Magazine

Email: michael@irishconstruction.com      WWW.MCDMEDIA.IE