Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests. I wish to put a number of questions to Dr. Davis. Reference was made to the Scottish model, the Welsh model, etc. In the studies it compiled, did IBEC compare Ireland with its EU partners in terms of establishing what is the best procurement model? Is there a need to establish a separate working group - similar to that which obtains in respect of SMEs under the guidelines set down in the context of Circular 10/14 - to deal with microbusinesses? What figure does IBEC use in the context of identifying what constitutes an SME? IBEC is represented on the SME working group. Has it made suggestions to the Department with regard to the establishment of a similar group to deal with microbusinesses? Dr. Davis stated that Circular 10/14 has not been fully implemented but other speakers indicated that it has been totally ignored. Will Dr. Davis comment on that fact?
I recall the old saying about lies, damned lies and statistics and Deputy Tóibín referred to the number of Irish companies that are winning procurement contracts here. As stated earlier, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, stated last June that in excess of 95% of public procurement contracts in Ireland are won by Irish companies. This tallies with the 5% figure to which Mr. Quinn referred earlier. The Minister indicated to me in a reply to a parliamentary question that:

Less than 5% of the overall public procurement spend is now won by foreign companies. In excess of 95% of public procurement in Ireland is won by Irish companies, 75% of which are SMEs. That was the figure for last year, up from 60% in 2012.

Does the Office of Government Procurement stand over those figures, particularly as they have been disputed? Perhaps this relates to the methodology used to assess said figures. The Minister also indicated that the European procurement contracts market is worth approximately €2.4 trillion. How have the changes which have been introduced benefited Irish companies? Was the aim of the amalgamations, mergers, etc. to try to secure some of those European contracts? Is there any evidence that moves in this regard are working or is this something to which we aspire?
It has been stated that while the State might save 5% or 6% on a particular tender, jobs are actually being lost. Obviously, this means that people end up out of work because, in some instances, businesses are forced to close. This leads to a loss of tax revenues - including that relating to VAT - for the State and rates revenues for local authorities. Is there any methodology which can be used to take those issues into account in the context of the tendering process? Will Mr. Quinn indicate whether Circular 10/14 is being implemented or is it, as has been suggested, being completely ignored?