Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for that very comprehensive reply. I am glad to see she is using the quantity surveying profession, of which I am member, to help her to keep the costs in check. I welcome her clarification that these costs are open for review because normally what happens on projects is when the application is made, applicants perhaps do not have the full design in place or the details done right, in the sense that they are not done fully. The contingency sum that would be built in would reflect that type of scenario. Given the unprecedented nature of the situation at the moment, there are unreal costs, especially for older buildings such as Loughrea Town Hall in my constituency. It will need a huge amount of insulation, and insulation costs are going through the roof. We also have other projects like that in the county where we find that costs have increased since the applications were first submitted and moneys granted two years ago. It is important we recognise that.

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