Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree wholeheartedly with the Senator about requiring that every single contractor tendering for a project in Ireland, irrespective of from where the contractor emanates, is subject to the same set of terms and conditions and is required to comply with all of the regulatory regime underpinning the contracting process here in Ireland. The Senator referred to oversight. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform requires those charged with the delivery of public works to comply with the public spending code and the capital works management framework.That sets out the high-level principles that apply to project governance, in particular the procedures that must be followed by bodies with delegated sanction for capital expenditure - those being the awarding bodies I mentioned earlier. All projects are required to complete the review stages set out in the code before sanction is given to go to tender. That process is undertaken between the sponsoring agency and the sanctioning authority.

This is topical and a timely intervention on the part of the Department. A review of the public spending code is under way in the Department. As elements of the review are completed the associated updated guidance will be published. Work is ongoing on updating the requirements for the various stages required in the process of selection, appraisal, approval and delivery of capital investment projects. That review of the public spending code will be completed in the first quarter of this year.