Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is a fair point that in seeking professional advice on which one is likely to rely when making policy decisions, this advice must be evidence based, impartial and fair in so far as this can be achieved. We have people in the Department, albeit a small number, who have experience of all these matters and are able to assess ongoing performance and the feedback we receive. None of those with whom we engage are tied to a particular external company. They do work for a range of companies and, therefore, would not be in the pocket of any particular company.

Normal procurement standards would have to apply and companies that are successful in winning tenders to do certain work would have to comply with standard procurement precautions in this area. The Department has been compiling information to enable decisions to be made about future licensing rounds. There is also a certain amount of give and take on this. If it was the case, as Deputy Colreavy fears, that it would be possible to undermine the process, without wishing to resort to puns, this would come out in the wash fairly quickly. To answer the Deputy's question, I am convinced that great care is taken to ensure the Department is not the subject of partial advice that would advantage a particular company. In any event, we are not dealing with a particular company. A range of companies is involved and I am satisfied in respect of the matter the Deputy raises.