Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he will begin the review of the Government construction contracts which he committed to undertaking this year; the length of time the process will take; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16454/13]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the groups and persons that have contacted his Department with regard to the upcoming review of the Government construction contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16455/13]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 514 and 515 together.

Fixed-price lump-sum public works contracts were introduced in February 2007 as part of the Construction Procurement Reform Initiative the objectives of which are to achieve greater cost certainty, better value for money and timely and more efficient delivery of projects.

A commitment was given to the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and the professional bodies in 2006 by the Minister for Finance at that time that a review would be conducted by the Government Contracts Committee for Construction (GCCC) at an appropriate time when adequate experience had been obtained in the use of the new contracts by contracting authorities. Consideration was given to a review in 2010 but at the time it was agreed that insufficient numbers of contracts had reached final account stage to provide material for a review.

I am satisfied that sufficient projects have now reached agreed final account stage to conduct a review of the performance of the contracts.

The CIF and Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland have contacted my Department about the review and the matter of the review has also been raised informally by other professional bodies and representative groups at various meetings and communications. We are considering the best means to carry out the review before we commit to a timescale and the arrangements about which the Deputy is enquiring will be decided shortly.