Mr. Phelim Devine:

I was involved in the executive when we pre-qualified the contractors. This was done in 2015 and they were pre-qualified around the end of 2015. We tendered the project in 2016. On the criteria against which they were assessed, past performance was not one of the criteria. Obviously, financial capability, record and experience were some of the criteria. My understanding of public procurement, which complied with EU rules at that stage in 2015, is that one cannot preclude a contractor from tendering for a project based on their past performance in the context of relationship or claims history, as Mr. Barry has already outlined