The Irish Education Minister's comments on architectural fees for school projects has been challenged by the Royal Institute of Architects.

Batt O'Keeffe said fees paid to architects deny the public value for money and said that architects' fees comprise 13.5% of the cost of a school project.

The RIAI has since written to the Minister to argue that his assertions are "incorrect and out of date in terms of current practice".

President of the RIAI, Sean Ó Laoire, said: "When this figure was operable it covered the full design team fees comprising an architect, civil engineer, structural engineer, fire consultants, mechanical and electrical engineers and a quantity surveyor.

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"However, no design team has been offered an all-in fee of 13.5% for the last five to seven years. Appointments and fees for projects are now procured on a competitive basis.

"The Minister also indicated that he will be advising school boards of management to seek to bypass the service of an architect and use a civil engineer or surveyor to cut down on costs. Neither of these professions is trained to provide an architectural design service and therefore the Minister's proposal is completely impractical," said Mr Ó Laoire.

He suggested the Government's policy on architecture centres on ensuring that public buildings take account of total lifecycle costs of buildings.

In this context, total design team fees comprise 2% of the building cost, according to Mr Ó Laoire.

"I would hope to embark on a dialogue with Minister O'Keeffe that could, among other things, look at the real costs of current procurement systems, and indeed the punitive impact they have on many members of this Institute, without yielding any building or public gain," added Mr Ó Laoire.

(PR)