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

We must deal with the position as it presents. I am fascinated by Ms McGrath's statement that 96% of contacts are awarded in Ireland. I have a list of 100 tenders which featured on the eTenders website in the period from 4 September 2012 until this morning. Is it not strange that not one Irish company tendered to operate the eTenders website, which is run by a Swedish company? I find it strange that small companies which do not have experience in online tenders are dealing with a Swedish company. The eTenders website is experiencing serious glitches and small companies are encountering difficulties with the facility. Was the tender document drawn up by the procurement section of the Office of Public Works for the website so prescriptive that not one Irish company was able to tender for the contract?

I have here a tender document on the suitability of contractors for small works associated with an extension at Kill national school in County Waterford. Ms McGrath referred to a turnover requirement of between 75% and 150% of the value of the contract. The tender document for Kill national school includes a declaration that the contractor's annual turnover for the three previous financial years be not less than one and a half times the sum tendered for the project. In light of this, I find it difficult to understand Ms McGrath's earlier comment. The document also states that the level of public liability insurance must be €6.5 million and employers' liability insurance for the contract was €13 million. This requirement excludes a large number of small companies from tendering for projects. Our task is to try to help small businesses.

I have an interest in this issue because the OPW is engaged in works on my farm which were intended to last for six months but have taken 18 months.

The one thing that stood out was the fact that the company that did it had done a number of jobs for the OPW. The question I must ask is how small companies get access to the tendering process. I will give details of a recent contract from the document:

I declare that the above named Contractor has carried out and satisfactorily completed 3 works of a similar nature, size and complexity within the last 7 years and will (if so requested in writing or email by the Contracting Authority) provide details of those 3 projects including the start and finish dates for the projects, the name of the Foremen, the scope of work completed by the above named Contractor and contact details.

Again, this immediately excludes any new company that might be looking to secure a contract set out by the OPW. It is a closed shop. The OPW excludes so many companies purely on the basis of this contract. I could have picked any contract.