Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in and telling their own stories in the way they did. It takes bravery because many of them are involved in the construction industry and specialise in education, where are contracts that are awarded, and the State holds a lot of the purse strings.

It is important for people to speak up and call it as it is. It is clear that the subcontractors have been abandoned and let down by the system. We have many public private partnerships, PPPs, holding companies and other elaborate structures. The subcontractors are the lifeblood of the Irish economy, employing people on the ground and building up family businesses throughout the generations, some of which have been wiped out or are in real danger of being wiped out.

How many subcontractors are affected? We heard from the NDFA that there are 160 subcontractors in total. How many subcontractors is the group in contact with and from the witnesses' understanding what is the total sum owed?