Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am glad we are discussing this item on procurement. It permeates a wide range of Government and local authority activities. It has all gone a bit crazy. I understand the challenges in implementing the EU directives but something has gone seriously wrong in their implementation. I will give the Minister of State some examples. The Cathaoirleach talked about the broader contracts, creating a level playing field, providing equal opportunity to the smaller companies and looking at the value rather than the price. The value in terms of employment and sustaining rural areas in particular is important. I am glad the Minister of State is coming to County Mayo. To confine it to those in Fine Gael would be a missed opportunity. We will discuss it in more detail then.

I will talk about a very small item. We met with Leader groups recently. An example is the purchase of biscuits for meetings. They have to go to three different shops, some of which might be 5 miles away. It is about the purchasing of things and purchasing power. It comes down to that and the rules that are set up around the purchase of items for local authorities, for example. They have to go with the lowest tender. It is not always necessary. The biscuits might be cheaper 5 miles away but it does not take into account what has to be spent on travelling the 5 miles. In terms of Brexit, an example is the delivery of employment supports where a procurement process has been gone through and contracts have been awarded to UK companies such as Seetec which is registered in Essex. It is just an example. I cannot see the value in taking functions away from local areas, which have already been delivered efficiently and effectively locally, just to fulfil an EU directive on procurement. That examination needs to be done. In terms of local authorities and the purchase of items and minimum values that come under the procurement process, somebody cannot just go into a local shop. We are talking about smaller businesses being able to compete and tender. The days of somebody being able to go into a local shop or business to purchase smaller items has been done away with. It is foolish and has a bearing on the economic viability of rural areas. It needs to be looked at. We need a wider session on this in terms of procurement. It will be interesting to see the information the Minister of State gathers from his consultations around the country to see how we can look at how the procurement process is mitigating against small and medium size businesses and retail businesses right across the board.