I propose to take Questions Nos. 413 to 415, inclusive, and 417 to 419, inclusive, together.
The information sought by the Deputy in relation to public works contracts tendered is held by the individual contracting authorities concerned. They are not required to pass this information to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
However the Government Contracts Committee for Construction (GCCC) has had a monitoring process in place since 2008, and a sample is taken of significant public works contracts completed. The sample assesses the effectiveness and impact of the Construction Procurement Reform Initiative, focusing on comparing measures such as; contractual fixed price lump sum figures and final outturn costs, contractual delivery periods and actual time for delivery.
To summarise, there were 165 sample projects monitored by the GCCC, which included 91 Building projects and 74 Civil Engineering projects; the initial contract value for the works contracts amounted to €971.8m with a 7.3% deviation from tender price at completion stage (8.9% on Civil Engineering projects and 2.9% on Building projects), which the Deputy should note is based on both actual and projected final account figures. The information is not available on a yearly basis. Change orders accounted for some of the deviation from tender price (3.7% on Civil Engineering projects based on information available on 16 projects from the above sample; and 2.8% on Building projects based on 49 projects). Change orders may be issued for any of the following three reasons: (i) for legitimate and acceptable reasons, (ii) a result of inadequate planning and design before contract award and (iii) scope changes. Contracting authorities were not required to include specific reasons for the deviations where they occurred.