Public procurement 'still heavily favours low-cost bids, even for high-risk projects'

BAM Ireland submitted the lowest bid to win the contract to build the now-long delayed and as-yet-unopened multi-billion euro National Children’s Hospital. File picture: Brian Lawless

BAM Ireland told the Government that public procurement “still heavily favours low-cost bids, even for high-risk projects”, and that the State’s approach leads to “prolonged delivery timelines” and “escalating costs”.

“Procurement models that prioritise cost over quality lead to adversarial contract management and higher rates of variation or dispute during delivery,” it said.