Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

The point the Deputy is raising is exactly the relevant one. We challenge these outcomes when we become aware of them. We ask the Department to demonstrate to us that this is the only supplier who can do this. It is a little clearer when a public body is locked into an ICT system and there is only one supplier of licences or requisites for it. We then check that the procurement testing for that has been carried out, even on a ten-year cycle, and that there is proper full-life recognition of the costs associated with the contract. A public body cannot just pick a supplier and decide that the State is tied to that supplier.