John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Do not rely on them is my advice to Mr. O'Daly. I say this because there are procurement rules set down which are breached every day of the week, with no apology to the Government or anybody else that is trying to implement proper procurement across agencies and Departments. I expect that all of the witnesses - who all operate at the coalface in terms of the delivery of the services they are required to deliver - will make recommendations to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform because the number of firms the PAC sees working for the different Departments is very small and the cost is enormous. For example, I want to ask Mr. O'Daly about a particular matter. I will not give the name of the case but it is something I came across recently where a barrister was being paid €1,500 per day. That went on for quite some time and cost the particular agency - and, therefore, the State - a considerable amount of money. Is Mr. O'Daly asked for his advice in relation to costs and how much the AGO pays? If owned a private company, I might ask my next door neighbouring private company how much it pays for a service. Leaving procurement regulations to one side, is that common-sense approach used by agencies of the State and Departments on a regular basis or does it just not happen?