Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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On the procurement issue I ask the Minister to outline the outside commercial experience. I would hate to think we are just growing our own internally. People have done MBAs in procurement but have never personally purchased anything beyond a car for themselves. I ask the Minister to outline the range of commercial practical experience.

My other point relates to property and is broader than just the OPW. I wish to make a constructive statement. The State property portfolio involves many agencies. OPW is responsible for many Government buildings. NAMA, a Government agency, has the biggest property portfolio in the world. IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, still has a massive property portfolio, which it is entitled to dispose of or whatever. There is something else known colloquially as the "NAMA for local authorities" - the Housing & Sustainable Communities Agency. During the boom years all the local authorities paid boom prices to buy land for housing developments in towns and on their outskirts, none of which are now proceeding. There are at least €500 million worth of almost greenfield sites being sent over to this agency through the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. There is nothing wrong with consolidating the ownership of those away from the approximately 40 different local authorities.

Those are four State bodies with major property portfolios. I would like to see a co-ordinated State approach to the management of all property under all State agencies. I would suggest the OPW should have ongoing talks with NAMA. We asked representatives of NAMA here before and I might have mentioned it. I want to broaden it to the local authority properties that were purchased and those owned by IBRC. The Minister should have a consolidated approach rather than four State agencies competing with each other in the property area.