Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I was going to say what was possible for any of the members of the Government involved in this, including the Ministers for Education and Skills and Finance, in particular, and, possibly, even the Taoiseach. This is a significant level of public works and we want the children, parents and teachers in the town get their school. However, we would also like the contractors to be paid. The responsibility is shared across government. The solution is to bring a memorandum to Cabinet to indicate that there is a recognition. I am not a lawyer, but the subcontractors as a group need good legal advice as to whether they can consider the courts as an option. This is possible for the Government, however, notwithstanding that it says it cannot touch the PPP process. We know that is not completely true from the UK experience, although it is a very strong legal mechanism. One of the responsible Ministers or the Government collectively could bring to Cabinet a memorandum to say the subcontractors' issues will be addressed. While they might not get 100%, they might get some contingency payments during the examination of what has happened to the various amounts that have been paid out but in respect of which they are at a loss and in danger of going under. The Government should act on a humanitarian basis but also on a reputational basis in circumstances in which providers should not be left out of pocket where the State is contracting for important services. That is the other issue the committee might put to the Government in a report.