Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will give two examples which this committee has been dealing with peripherally over the last year, or which at least have been brought to our attention, and ask some further questions. Mr. Quinn will be aware that the Department of Education used this negotiated procedure to procure the services of an individual vendor, which provided the basis of the leaving certificate for 60,000 students. If those services were required again this year, would the OGP believe that the negotiated procedure would be appropriate in this instance, given that the Department has had a year to prepare? Would the OGP believe the use of the same vendor would be appropriate, given the debacle that ensued last year?

We also had the issue of the negotiation process with the firm ViraPro, in relation to hand sanitisers. A number of anomalies were found in respect of the procurement process there. The frameworks in place are drawn up by either the OGP or its sister organisations in health, education, defence or local government. Are they essentially paper-based exercises or do they fulfil a function in terms of ensuring that what is contracted is what is received?