Results 6,021-6,040 of 26,018 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: We will follow up. It will come out of today's meeting that we will have to have them before us. It is a natural sequence.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: It provides the funding.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: I assume the Department would not provide the funding unless it signed off on a project.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Ultimately, it is the final arbiter of whether projects go ahead.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Who is telling you this, Ms Brogan?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: As Deputy Carey is still not available, I call Deputy Ó Murchú.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Does Senator Buttimer have further comments to make? Did I inadvertently cut across him?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Senator Buttimer should conclude his contribution now, as Deputy Ó Murchú is giving way.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Regarding the six projects mentioned that did not proceed, if they were to proceed, based on the requisite allocations, how much of an additional funding requirement would that be? Following on from Senator Buttimer’s question, what is the impact of the current inflationary measures on the delivery of the specific projects to which the €331 million has been allocated?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: No, how much funding was involved for those six projects?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: I refer to the funding it would have been necessary to allocate to allow those projects to proceed with the volume of work that would have been done in 2022.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Based on that, Mr. Ebrill is telling me these six projects did not proceed because €10 million was not available.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: That is hard for an ordinary person to appreciate.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: I will hand back to Senator Buttimer. I did not wish to or mean to-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Whatever way this is analysed, the context here is €10 million as a percentage of the overall budget of €331 million for new projects. Is anyone good at maths? Is that 0.3%? It is a tiny percentage of the overall budget, and yet this has caused a great deal of anxiety. Even without the calculator, my maths are still intact. The percentage works out at about 0.3% of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: In that context, we had representatives from Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, with us before Easter. We find that to be a measured type of body. Its representatives came in here and basically told us that the NDP was on fire and under serious threat. They did not do that lightly. We have invited representatives from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to appear before...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Does Ms Brogan believe the public works contract needs to be amended, whether temporarily or otherwise, to ensure it takes account of the huge inflation? The 15% sounds great but they cannot put in a claim for 24 months. If someone has a contract and was up and running before 1 January, they cannot put in a claim until they are above 50% inflation and they cannot do that for 30 months. As...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: There is an element of pass the parcel going on here at the moment. As a committee, we will not allow that to happen. This public works contract is too serious. I am not certain of the full details on Roadbridge but, from what we hear, the sector is under serious strain with regard to the contracts. A March 2022 statistic from the Civil Engineering Contractors Association has caused me...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: In that case, I will call Deputy Ó Murchú. I am passionate on this. I am an accountant by training. The figures do not add up at the moment on the public works contract, particularly for major roads projects. It does not add up. Deputy Cathal Crowe will be aware that, with the situation of Roadbridge locally, we have had to re-tender.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Reform of Public Works Contracts for the Construction of Transport Infrastructure: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Ms Brogan will follow up with correspondence to Senator Buttimer.