Mr. John O'Brien:

I will provide some examples of where projected figures and actual outcomes varied significantly. We were involved in one tender where the overall value of the contract was deemed to be €100 million over two years, and it was the value of the contract that determined what the pre-qualification criteria would be in order for companies to have the right to tender in the first place. The actual value of the contract over two years was €16 million. I smile when I hear someone quote statistics without having the matrices in place to be able to arrive at the various statistics and ensure they are accurate.

Mr. O'Reilly referred to circular 16/13, which pays lip service to small suppliers. It projects concern for small and medium enterprises but makes constant reference to the creation of consortiums which, based on the advice we have been given, one cannot legally undertake. The representative from the Competition Authority, who is referred to in the minutes of the previous committee meeting, clearly stated that if a company wishes to respond to these consortiums it should buy another company, merge with a another company or be bought, but that it should not talk to another company that is a separate entity because that would be breaking the law.