Public Procurement Contracts
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-16
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Frankie Feighan (FG), Sligo-Leitrim

Reform of procurement is specifically called out under action 25 of Accelerating Infrastructure: Report and Action Plan. There are also a number of actions focused on improving the visibility of the pipeline and providing greater certainty around the timing of the delivery stage of critical infrastructure.
Government policy with regard to public works procurement continues to require comprehensive definition of the brief and detailed description of the scope as this represents the most efficient means of delivery. There has been a significant move to rebalance the level of risk that consultants and contractors are expected to bear when engaged on public works projects. Liability caps and index-based price adjustment mechanisms have been introduced in the consultancy and construction contracts. Further reforms that are highlighted in the action plan include formalising dispute avoidance and early warning provisions; the development of an early engagement model to enable collaboration at the earliest point to drive efficiencies; the introduction of lean principles; and further adoption and promotion of digital technologies.
There is also a focus on training and supports for contracting authorities engaged in works delivery through the commercial skills programme. Through the construction sector group, there is ongoing engagement between the Government and industry on building the capacity of the sector itself through a range of supports and productivity measures.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-16