Mr. Derek Tierney:

The Department's view is that it would be better to avoid the High Court. We plan to take all necessary steps in advance of that. As Mr. Gunning has pointed out, the timeframes around the conciliation process and the High Court are externally driven. As an organisation, a funder or a sponsor, we have no control over that. The process is outlined in the public works contract we are currently administering. It would be better to resolve matters before we get to conciliation or the High Court but we have no control over that. The contractor is still entitled to reject any recommendation of the conciliator and push claims forward.