Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I think we should write to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for an explanation regarding the Teckal procurement exemption. There is a difference between a public good and a market good. Looking at the organisations that have used these data, including the Central Statistics Office, CSO, I would have thought there is a strong argument that this endeavour is a public good. Therefore, we should seek the response that Benefacts could not get from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Regarding the last paragraph of the correspondence in question, it relates to the same aspect of a market good. We should ask the Department of Rural and Community Development how it determined that work of Benefacts was a market good as opposed to a public good. We should undertake these two actions.

It was useful to get the information from Benefacts concerning the range of possible uses in this regard. They are comprehensive. We should also send the Greenville report that Benefacts commissioned to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and ask for its comments on it.