Infrastructure

Paschal Donohoe backs fixed price contracts for new infrastructure projects despite industry objections

State agencies claim fix price contracts no longer work in an era of high construction inflation

Paschal Donohoe: Minister for Public Expenditure says moving away from such agreements comes at a risk to the taxpayer. Picture: Bryan Meade

Paschal Donohoe, the Minister for Public Expenditure, has ruled out making any changes to “fixed price contracts” for new roads, schools and hospitals.

Fixed price contracts were introduced in 2007 to halt massive cost overruns in public infrastructure projects, with construction firms currently tendering huge prices for public projects to mitigate the threat of further inflation.

State agencies like Transport Infrastructure Ireland have been calling on the state to get rid of fixed price contracts ...