Fiona O'Malley (Independent)

I accept the ruling of the Acting Chairman that my amendment brings about a charge and has been ruled out of order. This is an opportunity to raise the matter and as the Bill progresses, the issue may be further considered. I am seeking a security payment to be written into the Bill. We have gone through the catalogue of companies which have gone to the wall and people are deprived of their livelihood as a result, largely because there was no security established. An earlier draft of the Bill included a security of payment provision which I would like reinstated. Contracts must be given to companies which can afford to pay their bills.

Construction is a highly competitive market. Intel decided to build a new facility in Ireland largely because construction costs have declined by 40%. This shocking figure indicates the extent to which costs increased while the boom was in full swing. It is now possible to secure much better value for money, although contractors will argue that they are undercutting one another and the current position is not sustainable. We need to reach a happy medium in which customers, specifically the State, obtain value for money and companies are able to operate in a sustainable manner. Establishing a mechanism, effectively a bond, to ensure security of payment will protect subcontractors and suppliers. I acknowledge, however, that such a bond could result in slight increases in costs. My amendment proposed to guarantee the full value of the contact.

With the benefit of hindsight we would definitely have built security into legislation on the construction industry when it started to run away with itself ten years ago. The model I hope the Department will adopt in this legislation is the Miller Act in the United States. The US legislation is a perfectly good example of what could be done here and my research indicates it works very well. We do not need to reinvent the wheel. Let us instead examine good legislation in place elsewhere. The inclusion of a provision on security of payment would enhance the Bill.