Mr. Fred Barry:

They are obliged by law to pay more than the minimum wage. The issue is perhaps not so much the minimum wage but the registered agreements. We engage in an audit activity for national road projects to make sure contractors are making their pension payments for their workforce and that they are paying in accordance with the registered agreements. The recent decision that the registered agreements are unconstitutional throws this up in the air a bit and I am not quite sure how it will work out in the future. I expect a broad direction to be given by the general Government contracts committee to the public sector on how to deal with the issue.

On costs in this country versus those in other EU countries, it is very hard to judge costs for minor improvement works, but we have data for the cost per kilometre for motorways and Ireland is one of the lowest cost countries in Europe. The delivered cost per kilometre for motorways in Ireland is well below the typical cost in other countries. It is even well below the cost in eastern European countries where they have much lower labour costs, but, nonetheless, the industry in this country has become extraordinarily efficient. I include contractors, consultants, local authorities, the National Roads Authority and the delivery system. Once we get a project through An Bord Pleanála and get it going, it is extremely efficient.

On whether the N16 is below standard, it most definitely is. There is no question about this and I do not say otherwise. We have some minor works projects which include work on the N16. We have another project ready to go there if and when the funding comes through for it. More general upgrades of the N16 are going to be in the same position as upgrades of other road schemes around the country. Until the economy and the funding position improve I do not see us undertaking any significant work in the near future.