Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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287. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list of all the performance bonds currently held for projects within the National Development Plan; the specifics of these bonds; the monetary value of each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62716/21]

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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288. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list of all the performance bonds released in 2021; the specifics of these bonds; the monetary value of each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62717/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 287 and 288 together.

The information sought by the Deputy is not collated centrally and is a matter for individual contracting authorities with responsibility for works projects.

Performance bonds are financial securities taken out by construction clients (public or private sector) to insure the contract performance against a default or breach by the contractor. They are provided by specialist insurance companies (sureties). In the case of a default or a breach of contract, the surety undertakes to cover any additional costs up to the value of the bond incurred by the construction client in completing the project.

The Capital Works Management Framework sets out the current requirements for performance bonds on public works contracts in Section 3.3 of guidance note GN 1.5.1.

Performance bonds should generally only be provided for contracts with an estimated value in excess of €500,000 (including VAT). For contract values up to €10m, a performance bond of 12.5% of the contract sum should be sought. For contract values in excess of €10m, a performance bond of 10% of the contract sum should be sought.