Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy raised some legitimate questions about whether the two-phase approach was the right way to go. That is something we have to inquire into and consider. There are obvious pros and cons with a two-phase approach. The obvious pro was that it is quicker. One can go ahead and get the enabling works, the clearing works, the demolition and the underground works done and then have the second phase done. An obvious downside is that while one knows for sure the cost of the first phase, one does not know for sure the cost of the second phase. Even when one goes for a single-phase contract, and the same experts will tell the Deputy this if he asks them, that does not preclude the fact that the developers can come in with claims after the fact. We see plenty of examples of contracts which were done differently, as a single tender with a single price amount and at the end of the job, the developer came in with additional claims because X, Y or Z was underestimated. It is not necessarily the case that had the alternative approach been followed we would not have found these additional costs arising anyway. They just would not have crystalised yet. They would have crystalised in 2022 or 2023 in the form of claims after the fact-----

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