Mr. David Gunning:

I have an issue with that, Chairman, insofar as the conciliation process is a confidential process, and the step onward from there, as I have mentioned, is the High Court. What I can say is that there are a number of large conciliations currently active and going to go through the process. I am afraid that I cannot say an awful lot about them.

Smaller conciliations concern, for example, disagreements around costs for a piece of equipment, a structural issue, the specification of a wall finish or a piece of joinery. The discussion in those cases tends to be around whether the costs should be borne by the contractor or the employer. Our view is clear on that, depending on the situation. The difference between the parties could be a few thousand euro or less. Nonetheless, we are conscious that this is public money and our responsibility in these matters is to defend the public purse in every sense.

I hope this has given the committee a flavour without-----