Mr. Ian Talbot:

On the issue of competent authorities, there are certain activities the State has always and ought to engage in. In the example of apostille certification of commercial documentation, only two offices in the country, one in Dublin and the other in Cork, can do this task. It is a distraction from everyday work. Is authentication of a document something the State must do in 2013? There are other forms of documentation such as certificates of origin that chambers of commerce can authorise in several chambers offices around the country for companies looking to export outside the European Union to facilitate access and trade. It is a not-for-profit arrangement to provide a service. We have a network that is close to the companies that need documentation. If we do not put the issue on the table, no one will debate or think about it. I am not sure anyone has an issue with it, except for the fact that it has always been done in a certain place. Why should the State be producing certain documentation? It is about the process as much as anything else.