Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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452. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he expects that a commencement date for the Construction Contracts Act 2013 will be set during the lifetime of this Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31518/15]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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453. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the reason there has been such a lengthy delay in the setting of a commencement date for the Construction Contracts Act 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31519/15]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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454. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if, further to the closing date for applications, a date has been set for the selection and appointment of panellists on the Adjudication Panel under the Construction Contracts Act 2013; if he expects that there will be representation from small and medium enterprises on the panel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31520/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 452 to 454, inclusive, together.

The Government is committed to the earliest possible implementation of the Construction Contracts Act, 2013 and in order to achieve this, approved the delegation of responsibility for its implementation to my colleague Mr. Gerald Nash T.D., the Minister of State for Business and Employment, late last year.

Minister Nash is taking all the necessary actions to bring about implementation of the legislation as speedily as possible and significant progress has been made to date. He appointed Dr. Nael G. Bunni as Chairperson of the Construction Contracts Adjudication Panel for a three year term with effect from 8th July 2015. Dr. Bunni has wide ranging experience of dispute resolution in the construction industry, both at home and internationally.

The Public Appointments Service is conducting an open competitive process, on behalf of my Department, for the selection of members of the Panel of Adjudicators. The closing date for applications was 18th September. Minister Nash will appoint suitably qualified candidates to the Panel as soon as is practicable following completion of the assessment process by the Public Appointments Service. The eligibility requirements for membership of the Panel are specified in section 8(6) of the Construction Contracts Acts, 2013.

A draft Code of Practice for the conduct of adjudications, which is required under the legislation, is being reviewed within my Department and the relevant stakeholders will be consulted prior to the publication of the Code by Statutory Instrument.

Once these preparatory arrangements have been completed, a date for implementation of the Act will be announced in advance in order to provide sufficient notice to those affected by the Act's provisions.