Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Okay. I understand the response from Mr. Ebrill in respect of the six projects. This comes back to my fundamental comment, however, and it is one I know many members will be sick of me saying, that the national development plan is the flagship policy. This meeting is about the reform of public works contracts. In that context, I would like to hear what the Department has done in respect of initiating reform of public works contracts. I ask that given the issues we are encountering. We will also hear about them later from the representatives of the Construction Industry Federation, CIF.

I have a major concern in this regard. From a political perspective, we will be in the shop window if we do not have project visualisation and delivery. We will go before the people in a situation where project X has not been delivered and we will pay the political price. This comes down to that too in many ways. Regarding reform of public works contracts, where are we with that process and what are the implications for ongoing projects, including those six projects we mentioned and others? Is there an import in respect of the whole issue of the modal shift we have heard about regarding active travel? What are the implications on the active travel segment of the Department’s endeavours in respect of the issue of public works contracts?