Mr. Peter Walsh:

To take those items in reverse, it will have no impact on the CPO payments. The commitment to the project is one that TII has made to Roscommon County Council and any consequential costs relating to land acquisition will be met. In my experience, if there is a delay around the payment of CPO, it has generally been around reaching final agreement on the sum. It is separate altogether from any construction aspect, however. In terms of when we might see construction recommencing, it is very difficult to speculate. It is a stretch of road we were very keen to have addressed. It had a challenge in that Rathcroghan, being the archaeological gem that it is, required a 35 km realignment. It could not be done in pieces. We had to take it in one chunk. We were very pleased to have gotten Government approval to allow the contract to go to construction. It is a frustration to all concerned to see it being held up in this case. Whereas my tendency would be to try to be as optimistic as possible, the reality is that if the receiver is unable to reinvigorate the business that was Roadbridge then we may well be looking at having to go out to tender again.

Going out to tender may produce a very different price, and producing a different price may change the business case, which may require Government approval. It would be wrong for me to make promises when a number of other hurdles we had previously cleared could be created. I do want to make promises that will turn out to be disappointing or to raise false expectations.

The commitment to the project from a TII perspective is undiminished. The circumstance is fairly clear in that no real work had started on sites, so we do not have half-built structures, half-built drainage runs or issues of that nature to complicate the matter. We have a developed design from the contractor that had tendered previously, which should help in understanding the project. I cannot really offer any comfort. It is a very unfortunate circumstance in which none of us wanted to be, and it is difficult to put a positive spin on it.