Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand that but some contracts are not so open. For example, from start of business up to 12 o'clock today, there were 13 procurement contracts up for tender by e-tender today. The bulk of international companies would not be interested in those contracts because they are too small.

Most of us would like to see more small and medium-sized enterprises being able to access them. Meeting the turnover requirement is a huge issue for them. Many small and medium-sized enterprises are prevented from entering into the e-tender process because the turnover requirement figure set out in the documentation associated with the process is way too high. I hope the European Union decides on something that would encourage more small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the e-tender process. That would be one of the few cases in which I would encourage the Government to take the European Union literally.