Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is an interesting discussion but I am not sure how germane it is to the Bill. It is an important part of the construction sector as we try to improve construction levels and see greater activity in the area. I think it is fair to say that public procurement within the construction sector operates in the most successful way when the authority makes clear what it wants at the pre-tendering stage and that it has the power to go through that information rigorously to make sure that it is satisfied with those who are looking for the work.

The Deputy asked if I have the list of those who go out of business. That list is a matter for the contracting authority. The Minister, Deputy Howlin and I set the standard and norm which is applied across the system. The best example of getting a handle on that is the tax clearance mechanism for which the Revenue Commissioners have responsibility. That should highlight difficulties where people are looking for work.

The Deputy asked a fair question about the number of people employed in public procurement. There is a figure set out in the Accenture report. I understand it is 580. I said when the report was published that it is still too many. We do not want people involved part-time in public procurement. This is full-time business. I hope the Deputy supports us when we centralise this as we are doing because there are enormous opportunities for substantial savings if we get this prize. Accenture said that somewhere between €280 million and €550 million can be obtained over a three year period by better procurement. The prize is €500 million over three years if we get this right. That requires having people in place who know their business. It does not require people who do this part time. I fully concur and agree with the Deputy on that point. That was very clear in the Accenture report.

This is all about proper payment practices and one of the things we are considering, which may have come out in parliamentary questions to me or to the Minister, is a project bank account which he is examining in the Department. This would be a payment mechanism structured around a trust account where staged payments due to named beneficiaries, that is main contractor and specified sub-contractors, are notified to the bank and the agreed amounts are paid via the account directly to the beneficiaries. That would give the State much more oversight and, arguably, of how and when people are paid for work done on that contract. We have seen good international examples of this where it seems to have worked.

Have I answered all the Deputy's questions?