Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

For example, look at the other infrastructural projects being carried out by Government, particularly in the education sector where the Department of Education and Science is re-tendering school projects. There is one in my constituency where the prices have come in 10% to 20% under what was originally indicated two or three years ago.

Given that this project, and the way it was framed in the context of the initial bid increasing by 30%, became unaffordable from the taxpayers' point of view, in effect, we will consider other options. As Deputies must accept, I have always told the House that, while we had a preferred bidder with whom our people were discussing the matter, we would go to the other options were that process to be unsuccessful. In the coming weeks, I will revert to the Government to determine how to proceed. We will consider PPPs and the use of the National Pensions Reserve Fund, NPRF, as the latter could be used for this type of project.

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