Mr. Mark Griffin:

The cost bases dropped, but the level of infrastructure required by ECAS to run the service has not particularly altered. In spite of the need for redundancies, it still has to provide three geographically spread call centres and two data centres to act as backups for each other. Therefore, the need for that core infrastructure will not decline all that much, irrespective of the reduction in the level of calls. The upshot for us, as a Department, is that in terms of procurement we will be looking for a new concession agreement at some stage in the not too distance future. We have to reflect on the recommendations of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the suggestions set out in the report and will absolutely do this. One of the things on which we will reflect is whether there is a better and less complex way of structuring an invitation to tender to make sure that whoever bids will bid for a service that will deliver what needs to be delivered, given the critical nature of these services. Perhaps, we need to be a little less obscure in how we structure the invitation to tender around the guaranteed rate of return, the base rate, and so on and simply ask tenderers, "What is it you require by way of a management fee to run this service for the next number of years?"