Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

They are two separate points. There were seven suppliers with combined transactions to a value of €2.6 million, which would be considerably above the €60,000 threshold. They were services that should have been procured in an open fashion. However, we have heard previously about the practice where, say, a contract is expiring and it is then rolled over, rather than going back to the market. Individual circumstances arise in individual cases. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform requires open advertising on e-tendersof any contract expected to cost €25,000 or more. UCD takes a different view for efficiency and practical reasons. It only engages in open tendering on e-tendersfor something it expects to cost €60,000 or more. That is its routine.