Mr. Kevin James:

To respond to the Deputy's first question, it is a very difficult market at the moment. We are struggling to make a lot of projects viable. From a personal perspective, I know of contractors who have entered into contracts in the public sector and who can no longer honour their obligations and have had to walk away because of the inflationary increases they have incurred. This causes problems for the public sector client in question. There are different scenarios for the public sector and private sector markets. There is probably more flexibility in negotiations in the private sector to help the contractor. Although there are measures to deal with inflation in the public procurement rules and regulations, it is a matter of a discretionary discussion between the contractor and the public sector client in the event of disputes over increased costs. We have yet to see whether those discretionary discussions will turn into a conflict if a contractor incurs costs and makes a claim that the client is unwilling or unable to pay. That is one issue in respect of the market.

On the levy, there are two issues to consider, namely, how to fix the problem immediately and accountability. As regards the €30 million per annum we have talked about and what it will generate in comparison to the potential €5 billion exposure, the priority is to get moving. A plan needs to be put in place to prioritise and accelerate this process and to then retrospectively look at how the contributions will build up over time and contribute to the overall cost. The sliding scale of €30 million per annum will not make a massive contribution to moving forward, particularly with the mica homeowners.