Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are in an inflationary environment because circumstances are outside of our control in the Ukraine in terms of oil, material and other costs. We also have a considerable number of people who work in the construction sector, more particularly on contracts with TII. We have a national development plan to roll out projects the length and breadth of the country. Roadbridge brought into sharp focus the impact of a contractor collapsing in terms of specific projects, in particular the N5 and other projects. We have only three or four main Irish contractors left. Can I assume they are all working on existing contracts? So the risks and consequences are enormous. If a contract is to work then what form must it take? One may have situations where the current contracts are not viable. I do not want to see a further collapse of companies. I do not want to pre-empt a reply because the witnesses are the experts in the area but what type of contract would work?