Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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272. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the Office of Government Procurement will complete the Capital Works Management Framework review; when the review will be published; all external contracts entered into regarding the review, the duration, cost and purpose of each contract, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13175/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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A review of the policies and practices deployed in the procurement of public works projects commenced in March 2019 and is ongoing. The focus of the review is on improving the delivery of construction projects in terms of quality, timely delivery and cost outcomes. The review has already delivered, and will continue to deliver significant changes to the CWMF over the coming years. The review process involves extensive engagement, both with industry stakeholders, and with the public bodies charged with the delivery of public works projects on a broad range of issues such as:

- price variation

- risk management

- creating a better quality: price balance in the award of contracts

- adoption of BIM on public works projects

- liability, indemnity and insurance requirements

- performance evaluation

- encouraging collaborative working

A high-level strategy has been developed with the Government Contracts Committee for Construction (GCCC) that will guide the implementation of the review and will be addressed primarily through the progressive refinement and enhancement of the CWMF.

All external contracts entered into regarding the review.

Statement

The Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF) encapsulates all aspects of public works delivery from inception through to completion and review. It does this by means of a comprehensive suite of guidance, including best practice project management, cost control, design development as well as providing a suite of template tender documents and contracts. It was developed in 2007 in response to the prevailing challenges at that time and points contracting authority to clear delivery pathways in a complex technical, commercial and highly regulated environment.

The nature of public works delivery is changing in response to reducing the environmental impact of construction, developing more efficient methods of delivery such as off-site construction and the adoption of digital project delivery processes to enable these developments.

An agile approach to the review of the CWMF has therefore been adopted based on work streams that have been developed in consultation with stakeholders aimed at addressing these aspects as well as the issues that are impacting project delivery.

This approach enables focused engagement with a range of stakeholders in a structured fashion. The intention is that once recommendations are developed that these can be implemented to progressively refine core elements of the CWMF. This approach is preferred over one that seeks to complete a comprehensive report which may not reflect market conditions once the implementation phase commences.

The review involves engagement at different levels with contracting authorities and industry, it also requires input from a range of technical perspectives, cost management experts and specialist lawyers in the development of solutions. Coupled with that it must consider new and innovative measures to streamline processes and develop tools that will enable the better management of projects as well as improved quality and environmental outcomes.

The disruption caused by the pandemic and its aftermath diverted resources to developing responses to the exceptional events that have arisen since February 2020 where the focus shifted to developing the co-operation frameworks to address the shutdowns, the changes imposed on working conditions as a result of social distancing and, most recently, the exceptional levels of inflation.

My department not only developed these solutions but provided extensive support to contracting authorities in operating the measures since 2020. It should be noted that much of the research and groundwork already undertaken since the review commenced has enabled an agile and swift response to safeguard the assets being developed as part of the NDP.

These solutions include the following:

- Fixed Price risk in consultancy contracts – Amended forms of contract published September 2024

- Updated collateral warranties were published on in 2024 to reflect the liability cap in the main contract down to sub-contractors.

- Revised levels of professional indemnity insurance issued in 2022

- Liability risk – Consultant’s and Contractor’s liability capped 2023

- Fixed Price risk in public works contracts – Moderation and simplification of the Price Variation clause 2021-23

- Beginning in 2023 measures to address the carbon footprint of public works projects and the adoption of Building Information Modelling have been announced that will have far reaching implications for project delivery. There is ongoing research into the integration of cost and carbon data requirements into the CWMF.

- The templates created for the CWMF include updated reporting requirements for cost planning on projects to the International Cost Management Standard (ICMS). ICMS is a global standard for benchmarking and reporting of construction project cost and covers both capital and whole life costing, while providing a way of presenting costs in a consistent format. The new Reporting Templates are initially mandatory for cost, and optional for carbon. These rules will make it easier to define life-cycle costs, and also align with BIM requirements.

- A key theme of the review of the CWMF is the development of high quality information to enable better-informed decision making and reducing risk on construction projects.

- Building Information Modelling (BIM) represents a standards driven process to structure the information generated on a construction project. A high level implementation plan was outlined by Minister DPENDR and Minister of State for Public Procurement in July 2023 setting out dates for a phased adoption of BIM on public works projects.

- The implementation strategy has factored in the varying levels of BIM skills that currently exist in the Irish Construction Sector. Over the next 3 years these requirements will be extended to include the engagement of consultants and contractors down to projects with a value less than €1m. At that point all public works projects will have BIM requirements incorporated.

- The first of a number of digitalisation projects aimed at digitalising the CWMF is due to be launched in Q3 of 2025. A digital pre-qualification solution is under development currently which will significantly reduce the administrative burden on contracting authorities setting up, and prospective tenderers responding to, the pre-qualification questionnaire. - A key element of the procurement process, it will enable greater levels of participation and enhance competition for public works projects.

Engagement continues with the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Housing, Local Government and Heritage on developing an approach to sustained Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) adoption

There are a range of supports and dependencies that are external to the OGP that are under development to enable industry to respond to these new demands and the OGP is working with bodies such as the Irish Green Building Council and the Build Digital Project on these initiatives. Consultation and engagement with public bodies and industry is a key aspect of the successful implementation of these new approaches.

The GCCC has established a working group to develop a model to engage construction and manufacturing expertise early in the design stage to foster collaboration and explore innovative construction solutions. The model is intended to be scalable to service both programmes and projects including small and large projects. It will facilitate greater adoption of off-site solutions as well as finding solutions in conservation and complex engineering structures.

Together these reform processes will lead to meaningful policy change and will assist in delivering better value for money for the taxpayer in the implementation of Project Ireland 2040.