Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 30 May 2024

Public Accounts Committee

Financial Statements 2022: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board

9:30 am

Mr. David Gunning:

I will respond to that. There is a liquidated damages provision within the contract. That provides for what is referred to as a pre-estimate of the loss that the development board will experience. That will arise once we understand the full delay. It is at that point that we can attempt to levy. To be clear, it is not just a question of us taking the money. There is a process to go through. I fully expect the contractor to oppose that process.

Nonetheless, we have a strong position on that. It is not without challenge. That is the liquidated damages clause. That is the significant item we have in the contract relating to non-performance in respect of the timeline.