Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 2 June 2022

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

9:30 am

Mr. Kevin McCarthy:

Yes. Obviously, procurement is the best protection for us in ensuring value for money. We would absolutely accept that and we would want to move to a situation where all of our contracts are fully procurement compliant. That is the objective we are working towards. The publication of the RFT earlier this year was aimed at achieving that alongside the implementation of the White Paper which moves us to a different model, also based on compliant procurement. To be fair to everybody, the reality in which people have been operating is that we have become reliant on emergency provision and the very urgent sourcing of accommodation to meet the demand as it arises. We have obligations under international law to provide accommodation to people on arrival where they seek asylum. We have to do that to a particular standard. In procuring accommodation, the two key considerations for us would be that it meets the required standard and that it meets the required value for money test.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.