Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. I apologise for not being present for their presentation. This topic really drew me in. I apologise if my questions have already been asked. I have been very taken by the UK Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, which supports localism in public procurement. It allows somebody who tenders for a service or a product to show the economic and social value associated with it. If that tenderer is able to keep jobs in the local area, that might help to prevent depopulation, for example. The rating scale that is used under the UK legislation helps such tenderers to win contracts. I think it is a very good measure. As we know, everything is not always about pounds, shillings and pence. Many more people lose out when it is about pounds, shillings and pence. Much more money might have to be spent on social welfare, for example. What are the witnesses' views on that?

I would like to ask about another issue that was touched on in the presentation. The character is being stripped out of many villages and towns in the west. The development of shops like Aldi, Lidl and Tesco on the outskirts of towns and villages is taking the heart out of them. We know about the benefits of supermarkets in terms of consumer value and employment, etc. The profits are being repatriated in many cases. There has been some discussion about introducing a so-called Tesco tax as a means of rebalancing this sector. Have the witnesses any thoughts on that?