Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I will go back to the issue of tenders. There are timeframes within which local authorities have to comply in respect of planning. From the time tenders are accepted and are actually submitted, and where, for instance, there is a deadline set for 1 October for all the tenders to be submitted, what is the deadline within Departments for a Department to come to a decision in respect of to whom the contract will be awarded? Do we have deadlines within Departments because I have seen delays of five months to six months in Departments in respect of deciding what tender the Department is accepting. Is it not now time that we would set down for every Department a timeframe, from the time a tender is to be submitted to a Department and within which a decision has then to be made? That can be four weeks, six weeks or eight weeks but at least to have a timeframe.