Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Maybe powers higher than us need to consider including aspects of this. There may be perfectly good grounds for the contractor to be suing the State. I am not saying there are not. However, if it is doing it nine times, it looks like there is a little bit of form and consistency. As the people writing the cheque, we should have some element of discretion. There is no doubt the State is defending these nine actions and spending money doing so. I find it bizarre that the law provides for somebody to win a contract. I suggest that perhaps our interpretation of European law and the practice is sometimes a bit too literal and lacks an element of common sense.