Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State's comments. One of the problems we have now in respect of the tendering process is the long period from when the tenders come in to when they are signed off on. That has happened on quite a number of projects over the past number of years and costs continue to rise. It is really important that there is no further delay in awarding the contract. After that, the timescale must be short for the person who is awarded the contract to accept it and say they are signing off on it and are going to commence the project. Given that costs have risen substantially over the last 18 months, I am wondering whether the process we now have for contracts can be reviewed to provide a faster response in giving decisions and starting the projects when the contracts are awarded.

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