Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. Will he confirm for the House that the one remaining bidder has yet to submit pricing details and a technical solution on the work to be carried out? Prior to the Minister's assumption of office the delay was estimated at six months. The programme for Government confirmed, based on the Minister's discussions at the time, that a contract would be signed in June 2017. Will the Minister now confirm, on behalf of the Government, that this has been delayed until today at least? Can he provide an estimate as to when he expects that agreement to be signed? He talks about proportions of seven or eight out of ten homes. I do not want to go back over this, but the Minister and I both know why and how this has happened, and it is not as a result of the Government's intervention. We need clarity around those 540,000 homes and around the timelines, or the Minister's best estimates thereof. That will allow us all to keep the process on track and on target.

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