Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Whatever about affording a level of flexibility within the contracts, I would be concerned that this opens up an exit clause or a level of ambiguity in respect of pay out on the contract terms. That is why I tabled my amendment. The genesis of this legislative initiative is that promises were entered into with sub-contractors but were not met and people were left high and dry. My concern is that there is almost a get out clause in this legislation. It states, "shall provide for each interim payment and shall provide for the amount of the final payment to be made under the construction contract or for an adequate mechanism for determining those amounts". That is not just flexible but is extremely fluid in respect of placing obligations on the party concerned.