Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I welcome the fact that we will be spending a day on PPPs. It is necessary and timely. Those two areas specifically are the most important in that regard. Can we reverse into the whole issue of national procurement guidelines, tendering and so on in some way? It is a topic which keeps surfacing but which we never delve into. There are issues here in respect of costs to the taxpayer. I do not think they are smooth. They need to be changed. "Tweaked" would not be a big enough word for me; they need to be changed substantially. This one-size-fits-all approach with regard to national procurement rules is not working. It is causing issues in some sectors, especially given the developing economy and the capital plan which is supposed to be announced every week. Given the way the national planning framework is progressing that will not be announced for another year. It is an apt time for us to discuss this issue in this format. The Chairman might come back to me on that.