Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

We are constantly told about the shortage of funds in the third level sector and the risk of introducing further fees for students. That is the backdrop to the matters we are considering. The same companies appear to be used. I clicked into some tables and the I note the same entities appear. Essentially, these entitles are building up a great deal of expertise which does not have to be learned by them a second time. I wonder about a scoping exercise in terms of a cost-benefit analysis that should have been done by the Higher Education Authority. That falls very much into the value for money side of matters. There should be cumulative purchase power here as well. It is as if each separate one has to incorporate that learning legal or consultancy experience. It almost reinforces those particular entities as the experts in the field to the detriment of others who may well provide a similar type of service at a lesser cost.