Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Turning to Mr. Hendrick, he mentioned the different types of delays, including those of NBI's making and those not. I would like to go through this detail. It was well covered in a Dáil debate with the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Ossian Smyth, on 27 January. I am sure Mr. Hendrick has had sight of that. In responding to my questions, it was interesting - and I am sure it is okay for me to quote the Official Record - that the Minister of State said that, "There has been an impact from Covid-19". The Minister of State acknowledged that context, but said it was "not the entire story". He continued by saying: "Part of the problem is the contractor's fault. Part of the delay comes simply from the natural things". He went on to say, though:

I would expect that at least a portion of the delays are the fault of NBI. It may believe it is the fault of its subcontractors and may try to attribute blame, but that does not excuse it because it is not in a position to abdicate its responsibility.

Mr. Hendrick has acknowledged that. The Minister of State continued his response by saying NBI "must take responsibility, even in a situation where it has delegated authority for some of its functions". What does Mr. Hendrick think the Minister of State meant when he said that "a portion of the delays are the fault of NBI"? Will he outline that to me?