Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I offer my commiserations to the witnesses because it sounds like the worst days of the last collapse, which we all hoped nobody would experience again. By way of information, I have raised this issue with the Minister for Education and Skills five times, directly in the Dáil and by way of questions. It is the same with the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach. I represent Dublin West, which has a massive school building programme at primary and secondary level. All of this stuff, including the 20-year company management, is very important for the parents sending their children to school.

I specifically asked questions about Wexford because my understanding was that in Wexford the teachers had moved some of their stuff into the school. This is what I was told. The witnesses have spoken about the legal niceties. Technically this was a completed building because all that was left was the cleaning, dusting and final opening and handover to the facilities management company process. We were told by the Minister of Education and Skills that this is all sorted with regard to that school and the other school that is practically finished, and that subcontractors were being found to get the other schools on track. While there was no commitment on those schools, I and Wexford Deputies from all parties left the Dáil Chamber with the strong impression the Wexford situation was fixed. To follow up on what Ms Walsh said, will there be an arrangement whereby the schools that are practically finished will be available in September, as they have been told and as has been in the public media?

The witnesses have a contact group of the various subcontractors. What is their liaison with the NDFA? Is there a specific subgroup or an individual who is the link person to deal with the practical issues and the handover issues should there be a replacement main contractor?

I read up on the history of Carillion and Capita in the UK. Much of it has been covered over the past two months in major articles in the Financial Times.

There was a strong suggestion running through the articles of a problem with underbidding and also poor management. The company was being sold on and it was a stock exchange company. In respect of Sammon, the main contractor, did the witnesses, as the principal subcontractors, get a sense that there were these problems? Eight months ago, did they wonder if the project would last? Were there any indications from the UK that Sammon and Capita, which does not have a major presence in Ireland, had overreached in how they priced? What do the witnesses believe is likely to happen in Wexford in September? What structures, if any, has the NDFA established to assist?