Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think she did. I shall deal with both amendments and I shall first deal with amendment No. 23. As Deputy McDonald has stated, the deletion of the words "or otherwise" would narrow the possibility of a contractor to take into consideration costs that could arise from obligations linked to a contract, but not contained in the contract. For example, a subcontractor may damage something on the site while carrying out work which could give rise to a legitimate cost for the contractor. That is a consideration for us when not accepting amendment No. 23.

Amendment No. 24 deals with enforcement in the event of a non-response to a payment claim. The matter was raised on Second Stage in Dáil Éireann. I have been advised that an obligation under the contract to make an interim payment is a contractual matter that can be enforced in the courts. In the context of the current Bill, if a payment has not been made the contractor, or the subcontractor, is entitled to sue because the contract must cover staged payments. The Bill also provides the contractor, or subcontractor, with another mechanism to take action by suspending work if they so choose. For that reason we do not believe that the amendments are necessary and also given the fact that the contract is already in place and provides for obligations on all parties.