Ms Deirdre McCarthy:

In areas where there was some discussion, the Department acknowledged the notion of reserved status - that essentially the contracts can be reserved for particular providers. The advice, which is correct, was that it cannot be. Under the current rules, going out for public tender means that cannot be done, just as you cannot have your cake and eat it. If the choice is to go down the public procurement route, somebody cannot then whisper on the side that it will be delivered, even though this has happened over the years despite the fact that it is not supposed to be done.

Under the new directive, if transposed, there is space for having reserved contract status or for developing partnerships between provider and tenderers. The new directive allows for that, but my understanding is that the current one does not.