Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

I accept the Minister's offer regarding the ultimate beneficiaries from the criminal and paramilitary world and I will give him my information. However, I am hugely concerned about the possibility of sweetheart deals, which involved information being available from within the agency or by those attached to the agency for the purpose of alerting people on a favourable basis to arrange contracts. No open procurement procedures or tendering process is in place. The reply I received from the Minister last Tuesday on this issue confirmed that the EU open tender competitions rules only apply to management and catering services and do not apply to accommodation, in which I am interested. I still seek an independent examination of the contract procedures and publication of a report on them. The examination, which is necessary, could be conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General's office or another independent office.

See this speech in context