Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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338. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding legislation designed to protect the financial interests of sub contractors on building projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33762/14]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Construction Contracts Act 2013 was passed in order to help address the issue of non-payment to construction sector sub-contractors who have completed work on construction projects in accordance with their contract conditions.

The Act achieves this through two elements

It provides new statutory arrangements for payments under construction contracts, including providing for interim payments.  This will reduce sub-contractors' exposure to non-payment; and

It introduces new mechanism for the swift resolution of payment disputes through adjudication.  This will provide a route for sub-contractors to achieve redress in the event that non-payment occurs.The Act also sets out how a payment claim is to be handled and permits suspension under certain circumstances for non-payment.

The implementation of the Act requires the selection and appointment of a panel of adjudicators to effect the dispute resolution aspects of the legislation, and the development of a code of conduct for adjudicators of disputes, in consultation with stakeholders.  These tasks are currently underway, and it is hoped that the Act will be implemented in full by Spring 2015.