Mr. Derek Tierney:

There is a point of fact I would first like to raise. While the contractor has valued just over 1,000 of its 1,200 claims at €500 million, the board has valued those at €7.5 million. There is a balance to be struck here between what the contractor is claiming an entitlement to and where the board has landed as a position. That is the state we are operating within on behalf of the taxpayer. The board has a responsibility to get the best value in its engagement with the contractor. We have two positions. That is the reality of the commercial engagement that is ongoing at this moment. All I can say is that if and when there is clarity on a outturn on the construction contract, we will be going back to Government. There are no two ways about it. We have an approved sanction for the figure of €1.143 billion. If the costs rise beyond that, we will be obliged to go back to the Government to seek an increase.