Nobody had seen so many Irish architects in one room – not even for the more extravagant annual conferences held abroad during the boom years – with more than 500 gathered in a Dublin hotel basement suite last week to let off steam about the new building regulations.

Seven former presidents of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) had caused an extraordinary general meeting to discuss a motion declaring that the amended regulations would not protect consumers while imposing “intolerable liability” on architects.

What concerns the architects is that they will be held liable for any “latent defects” in the new buildings they certify, in the absence of a rigorous inspection regime by local authorities for construction sites.

With the ghost of Priory Hall hanging over the proceedings, former RIAI president Joan O’Connor said architects “cannot take onto ourselves the role of certifier on an unlimited basis” for new buildings. “The State needs to wake up to its responsibilities.”

Michael Collins, another former president, warned that architects would end up being sued – and then they would have to sue everyone else involved in a project. The only real beneficiaries would be the newly formed Association of Construction Lawyers.

Motion dropped
After hearing appeals from current president Michelle Fagan and director John Graby – as well as acting on legal advice – the meeting agreed to drop a threat in the original motion that RIAI members "will not operate the system until acceptable measures are in place".

It's now over to the Department of the Environment and Minister Phil Hogan to find a formula that will meet the architects' concerns.