Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

Regarding basic principles, there is a set of basic things that need to be done and gone through. I think with some of them, particularly the ETBs, there is a provision that if a local school has its own budget and makes its own procurement decisions, they can go ahead and advertise locally and so on. If it is a big contract, they are still bound to do it as is appropriate to the level of spend. In that situation, one would expect the central procurement officer to be watching, checking and ensuring that the proper procedures are being followed at a local level.