Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The last time we had correspondence we were told not even to discuss it and not to discuss timelines or to speculate on it. We were pretty much told that we were not going to get it. This morning, we had a discussion with the Department of Transport. It has big projects on the way. The very least we would want to do is learn some lessons from the mistakes of the past. The Chair has made a point about the two-stage process. This was really where a large amount of the extra expenditure arose. We were told if it went out to tender again it would just delay it. It was not feasible to do the two phases and have a proper tendering process on the second phase. This type of information is very important for understanding what can go wrong and where we can keep an eye on other very large-scale projects. I accept there is a new spending code but process is important. Part of the reason I asked about the number of staff on the site is that in a scenario where there is construction inflation, it could be way beyond 5%. The longer this goes on, the more the contractor can gain from it in theory. It is very important that we are given information on exactly how it is progressing. If there is any slippage in the number of people on site it adds to the exposure and to the price. This is why this particular aspect of it is so important.