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

I move amendment No. 25:

In page 8, subsection (1), line 27, to delete “work” and substitute “any or all of its obligations”.

First, restricting the right to suspend work for non-payment to two weeks does not act as a sufficiently robust deterrent under the law. Unless this suspension limit is withdrawn, it could undermine fundamentally the driving purpose of the legislation, as instructing subcontractors to go back on site to continue working for a main contractor who is withholding payment for work already completed does not make any sense. It could be perceived as a sort of capitulation to rogue operators, the very people who made this legislation necessary in the first place. In the event that work has been completed, this allows for the option of withdrawing the obligation to provide operations and maintenance manuals or commissioning certificates. If the job has been completed but a payment dispute arises, the phrase "any or all of its obligations" could cover the withholding of operations and maintenance manuals or certificates.