John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, or that they had to deal with the matter urgently. This is similar to the explanation given in one set of accounts presented to us this morning, in which just over €400,000 was spent on procurement without the appropriate process being followed. That sends out a very negative signal about procurement processes. In the education sector, for example, UCD applies a threshold of €60,000 for open tendering for contracts, rather than €25,000. It has simply taken the view that it can apply a threshold of €60,000 rather than €25,000. All members of this committee have questioned this approach in recent times. This morning we saw that Bord na gCon continues to have issues around procurement. It is an issue within Departments and agencies, with some continuing to operate outside the guidelines. Not only that, in many cases that we have examined, they receive very poor value for money.