Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

There is a very complex set of rules, laws and EU directives within which public procurement must be carried out. It is a very technical area with many potential pitfalls if an organisation does not do things correctly. One of the reasons for which we have been putting so much emphasis on the importance of competitive processes is that there are remedies available to people who are legitimately in business and who would have a legitimate expectation that they would be able to compete. They may secure compensation if they have not been allowed to compete. These are the kinds of risks organisations are running if they do not open their procurement to the market. This is why we have kept pushing at it.