Mr. Tom Parlon:

I hope that we are talking about a month. All of the work has been done. Recommendations have been made. There will, of course, be implications in terms of making a change. The Minister is on the record as saying that about €12 billion is available for the expenditure on the NDP this year. We did not spend the full amount last year or the previous year for different reasons. He has said we cannot go beyond that and the industry is not expecting him to.

Given the current level of inflation, we will get less bang for our buck. Projects will cost more. At the moment, the Government has said that contractors, which are largely individual family firms, signed contracts and it is tough luck as they have to deliver.