Results 5,521-5,540 of 10,842 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: Mr. Tierney will recall from that meeting that there was general acceptance that the budget was going to be exceeded.

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: If BAM was successful in a single one of its claims, that budget would be exceeded.

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: I am speaking about where matters stood when we met this time last year. I will come to the issues that have arisen over the past 12 months later. Prior to inflation exceeding 4%, the budget had already been exceeded. Is that not fair to say?

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: How many claims has BAM made?

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: How many of those claims were lodged prior to April 2021?

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: Does Mr. Gunning have that number for us?

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: It is fair to say that over half of the claims were made prior to this time last year.

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: Does the Comptroller and Auditor General have those figures to hand?

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: Please do.

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: What Mr. Tierney has stated is that all the problems we are facing arise from the inflation rate.

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: I asked Mr. Tierney to do the exact opposite of predicting the future. I asked him to give us an assessment of the contract that was originally signed and he said he would not do so. Then when we ask for a projection into the future Mr. Tierney is saying he will not give one.

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: The question I essentially asked was if the Department thinks this was a good contract.

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: I have asked that question in about three different ways and Mr. Tierney has not answered it. The reason I ask is that we are in a new situation, one that was not envisaged last year when this committee and the general public were exercised by the potential cost overrun of this. We now have building inflation that by all accounts will exceed 4%, possibly by a substantial amount. I listened...

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: I want to try to simplify all of this. Does the contractor have to provide receipts for the material that has inflated in price?

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: There are two elements to inflation, namely, wage costs and material costs. I presume both of those are incorporated into the compound scenario Mr. Gunning described.

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: On materials, it is possible that the material that was bought in 2020 might only be used in 2022 but the State will still be paying an additional amount. Is that correct? I see Mr. Devine shaking his head.

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: That is the point I am coming to.

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: Does Mr. Gunning accept my point that the contractor will potentially receive 6% for additional costs year on year without having to provide evidence that its costs have increased by 10%, which would be the inference in the contract?

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: Many of us would be dealing with smaller contracts at a local level and there has been quite an amount of discussion on social housing units and things like that. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has made a provision whereby inflated costs will be borne between the developer and the awarding body to the tune of 70:30, where the developer takes 70% of the increased costs and...

Public Accounts Committee: National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Financial Statements 2020 (16 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: I will allow others in. I call Deputy Verona Murphy.