Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will put the right time on my phone so that I will not go over. I want to go back to the issue of bid rigging. Could Ms Goggin estimate how much this is costing the Exchequer? From talking to small businesses, in particular in the building area, they are absolutely convinced that bid rigging goes on. The people who contact us are those who feel that they have lost out in this regard. I know there are people who are responsible for spending some of this money and who regard it as something of a victimless crime. However, it is the taxpayer who is on the hook for it. Could Ms Goggin estimate the cost to the Exchequer of the practice of bid rigging? Could she outline the extent to which she thinks she will be able to make an impact on it in the short to medium term? I am sure she is as aware as I am of how angry people are about this matter, because a lot of business people who are trying to do the right thing feel that they are losing out. They feel they are in a competition that is over before they even get to enter.