Mr. Michael Malone:

Deputy Lawlor raised the possibility that a levy on insurance companies might form part of the long-term solution. If I understood the Deputy correctly, he suggested that this might be something for the County and City Managers Association, CCMA, to pursue. In that context, when the committee has finished its study of this issue and formed a view on it, I would ask that it write to us formally and at that point we might be able to comment further or assist. That would be a useful exercise.

The e-tendering process is the same for drainage as for any other works. The limits are set down and we have to work within them, with no way around those limits. I accept the point that e-tendering and procurement generally can take a long time and perhaps there are better ways of doing things. However, as a general rule, the size of the contract will dictate whether one has to go through an e-tendering process and I do not think there is any way around that.