John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Parlon is correct to put on the record that there will be substantial increases to existing contracts, and the delivery of houses and other major projects. It is no harm to mention the children's hospital because of its size. The Government needs to understand the major implications for cost. There is also an issue with insurance, which Mr. Parlon did not cover adequately. Most of the insurance companies are running from anything to do with Covid-19 claims and will do anything not to pay those who are insured.

I also ask him about the collapse in funds relative to US or other international funders of the massive projects being undertaken across Dublin and other centres. That must also be a concern. If that happens, we will be left with major problems for the employees on those sites and for reopening those sites and avoiding an economic crash relative to the sites.

I would like the committee to recommend a Government-led forum or a place where issues like this can be worked out without it going to court. From what Mr. Parlon has said and based on the reality on the ground, it seems that there will be major legal issues with insurance claims for the sites themselves. The costs will need to be dealt with in that kind of forum. I ask him to press these measures so that we do not end up being confronted with this overnight. Now is the time to plan for it.

The point I was making about small contractors was that they need support and encouragement; I was not saying that they were less diligent. I was saying that they are very diligent, but they are coping with an entirely new scenario now. Rather than just looking at the big contractor, we need to embrace all those smaller contractors who are giving fair employment and doing their best. This is something that has not been dealt with by them previously.

I say this to Dr. McGuinness on the meat factories and so on. Someone fell down on that job. Ms King referred to employers who are responsible, acknowledge the workforce and so on. They were not and that is why they got into trouble. While we expect so much from them, greater vigilance on the part of the HSA and other Government agencies needs to be put in place. I encourage the committee to look at the alarming figure of 40% and other issues relating to insurance and funding on these major sites. We need to deal with it and plan ahead for what will be a serious legal quagmire. The Dáil needs to confront that at an early stage, otherwise the taxpayer will pay substantially more in costs, and court appearances and challenges.