Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

I could speak for an hour because this subject is close to my heart. Section 1(3) states references in the Bill to construction operations do not include the manufacture or delivery to a construction site of building or engineering components or equipment or materials, plant or machinery. This is an important point.

The Bill states a contract between a State authority and its partner in a public private partnership arrangement, as those terms are defined in the State Authorities (Public Private Partnership Arrangements) Act 2002, is not a construction contract. Certain contracts are excluded from the definition of the construction contract. The Bill does not apply to ordinary individuals who enter into a contract for building and this is fair enough. In future, construction contracts will provide for interim and final payments, the specific sums due in each case and when they fall due. Major or main contractors have a custom of relying on a system of paying when they are paid and having such clauses inserted as part of a contract. This will no longer be tolerated and Senator Quinn has done a tremendous job in achieving this.

I ask the Minister of State to examine the issue with regard to State contracts. Often when awards are made against a company by the Employment Appeals Tribunal or the Rights Commissioner or another body they are not honoured. However, local authorities and semi-State bodies subsequently award contracts to the company. Under the terms of the 2016 agreement this was supposed to be addressed. The practice has caused angst. Why should a company get a contract if it has not complied with and fulfilled its statutory duties under a previous contract? One can argue it is a new contract and that one cannot state Penrose Limited should not be prevented from being awarded the contract, but if Penrose Limited owes Deputy Stanley money awarded by the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the Rights Commissioner or the Circuit Court it should not be awarded a State contract unless it honours the commitments made by State adjudicating bodies or provided by the State's adjudication mechanism in employment law. It is another area we must examine.

On Committee Stage I intend to deal with a number of other issues. I compliment the Minister of State on the Bill and Senator Quinn on the invaluable work he did. He showed the value of the Seanad in teasing out this legislation in the delicate way he did.

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