Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Are they hearing the same things? I am hearing that the smaller suppliers are getting squeezed out by the bigger suppliers even in terms of the volume of books they have to store and arrange for the schools but particularly because of how the payment scheme works; they have to take on a large debt to receive it back from the Department. The parents used to come in and buy on a more piecemeal basis. There was revenue coming in through the door on a more constant basis whereas now many of the smaller suppliers do not find themselves in the position to spend the money upfront to receive it back from the Department or they find the administrative burden such that they are squeezed out of the market. Perhaps that is just a byproduct of increased efficiency, but are we at least thinking of it? That is the question I am putting forward.