Mr. John Tierney:

I would like to respond. Meter installation was put to public tender. There were eight regions decided upon and eight contracts. The system was very well put together in that it is based on work packages. Consequently, if one does not deliver in one's work, it can lead to the contract being passed to somebody else. It has worked extremely well. It is on the public record that four of the contracts went to one contractor. Two went to another contractor and two contractors got one each. These are the main contractors. We set a target that a minimum of 25% of their staff would have to be from a combination of small and medium enterprises, school leavers, graduates and the unemployed. Some 60% have come from those sectors. A significant number of small subcontractors around the country are being employed as part of that programme.