Mr. David Gunning:

The Deputy has asked many questions, for which I thank her. I will try to unpick some of it. If I were to describe the overall relationship with the contractor – I have been in this role since September 2019, or for five and a half years – I would say we have gone through various undulations or ups and downs. We have always tried to remain absolutely focused on the objective, which is to get the hospital done, and we have always tried to be extremely professional. I would say that is the case on the BAM side and in relation to ourselves. We acknowledge there are 600 or so people from BAM or its subcontractors on site every day. We are making progress, but it is not at the stage we would like.

The money to be paid to BAM is all governed by the contract that was entered into in August 2017. The contract sum is €910 million, and there will be some variations on top of that, with a variation of €50 million determined by the employer’s representative and the €50 million in inflation that went on top of that. That is exactly where things stand at the moment.

On our intention regarding all the claims, I can take the Deputy through the claims table, which we provided in advance. It shows the number of claims provided. Some have been withdrawn. The ER has determined the vast majority of those claims at this time. It has been determined by an independent authority that the €800 million is equivalent to €50 million. The next phase of the disputes process is conciliation. Each of the processes involves very significant, almost quasi-legal, engagement. We have legal representation at each, generally counsel-----