Mr. Eddie Taaffe:

We have been working with the Office of Government Procurement, OGP, on rolling out design-build frameworks for the whole country and we hope to advertise for them in the next few weeks. We see a need for design-build contractors to take on some of the more straightforward sites in order to speed up the whole delivery process and bring in economy of scale in that regard. We are also working with the Department on trying to standardise as much as possible floor plates and floor plans for particular types of units. That should lead to greater certainty in the construction sector in regard to design-build schemes.

We are also trying to review how we operate frameworks, particularly for design teams and consultants such as architects and quantity surveyors. We are co-ordinating that better across the sector and making sure the right frameworks are in place to meet the needs of local authorities throughout the country. One of the considerations with frameworks is that they must provide for smaller consultants and builders to be involved in the delivery of housing, as well as the larger and medium-sized operators. The frameworks will be tailored to allow all cross sections of the sector to deliver different sizes of projects across the country.