Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I am happy to hear that. Will the Minister of State answer my question about the terms of reference of this examination or inquiry? Is he saying that this official has been moved aside while the inquiries are under way? I draw the Minister of State's attention to the fact that there is serious concern, particularly among the businesses to which the Minister of State refers, that a number of contracts are not advertised in the official journal of the EU. Under EU public procurement rules if a contract is in excess of €162,000, it must be advertised in the official journal of the European Commission. However, the value of many contracts start off at approximately €21,000 and climb to way over the tender limit. How does the Minister of State propose to address these matters? Is the Minister aware of the serious disquiet among other tenderers for Government business about how the OPW has done its business in this respect?

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