Mr. Jim O'Sullivan:

The government form of contract is being used by all State bodies that are publicly funded. This contract provides that the main contractor is the only contractor with which the Office of Public Works has a contractual arrangement. All other contractors on the site are domestic subcontractors. The old system of nomination was dispensed with in 2005 when the new contract was introduced and whatever security was provided by nomination is no longer in place. As to whether the Office of Public Works provides a guarantee for the payment of subcontractors, the position is that there are no contractual arrangements between any subcontractor and the office or any other public sector contracting authority.