Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is little I can ask that has not been raised by Deputy Fleming. The State spends a lot of money on procuring goods and services, with the objective of driving efficiencies in that sector, which is beneficial for the taxpayer. My experience at a constituency level is that nobody has come in to me to tell me a business is thriving because of the Office of Government Procurement; I have had the opposite experience, with small businesses in my constituency squeezed out of contracts they had in the public service. Will the witnesses flesh out how this is beneficial for service providers? I appreciate the point that given the European aspect, we could gain business on that level. That refers to individual companies which are doing business for themselves with opportunities. On the other hand, many indigenous small Irish companies who are not in a position to avail of the big opportunities in Europe are being squeezed out by companies coming in and taking Irish business.

It is important to have assistance in place for people buying and selling, whether we are talking about toilet paper, paper clips or school books. It is also important to have systems in place. Let us not become preoccupied with having systems in place if there is no delivery for business, workers, employees and the State in general. Will the witnesses give me the good news story as it exists for Irish SMEs, as I have not seen it? As I noted, in my constituency I have seen the opposite. I know two companies, one of which was involved with education and one which dealt with hospitality, that have lost substantial business in this process. They would be highly critical of what has happened with regard to the businesses that replaced them. When we look behind a company facade, it amounts to import substitution, as it may be bringing in products from China as opposed to using indigenous products. It is not all about price and should not be all about price.

If there is any remaining time, I would be interested in getting answers to some of the questions raised by Deputy Fleming.