Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On procurement, first, I believe anybody who wins a contract through the public procurement process should do so according to terms and conditions that enable people who work for them, either directly or indirectly, to be paid, and to be paid in accordance with the law in terms of the minimum wage and protecting people in the workplace. For any contract that is awarded on that basis I would expect that the people who do the work would get paid for it.

Across the period since we have tracked the savings that we have made in procurement, which is for the four years up to the end of 2016, we have made savings of approximately €300 million. You are right to say, Chairman, that it has resulted in individual companies having to be part of consortia to win tenders. But, for example, if in relation to construction we are trying to lower the price of housing, then it does mean that we will be asking companies to come together to pool their expertise and work together in order to try to achieve pricing that ultimately might make those homes more affordable.

On banking, as you know, Chairman, I do not have the ability to intervene, legally, into whether any bank decides to sell a loan book or not. I will have to check the legal status of requiring private companies to come before the Oireachtas. I hope that anybody who is invited to come before an Oireachtas committee would do so but I am not sure what the legal foundations are to allow that to be an invitation one cannot turn down, apart from the relationship that exists between the Committee of Public Accounts and public bodies.

In relation to the Comptroller and Auditor General, I am not aware if legal change is required to allow that office to oversee the work of Irish Water. I will ask the question and get back to you on it, Chairman.

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring, and I are working on the report on community banking at the moment. The two of us are considering a draft report currently and I expect that will be published in the coming weeks or months.

Are you saying, Chairman, that TLAC should appoint more people from outside the Civil Service?