Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Over recent years, because of tax certificate issues they have become very strict but it is not fair on new companies trying to enter the market, so I will raise the point further. For the record, it is expected that the result of this exercise will be to identify even better methods of procuring goods and services required — in my case, by my Department. The benefit of performing a high level analysis in the overall departmental perspective will ensure that purchasing trends can be identified which may not be apparent at a micro level. Such an analysis may possibly identify opportunities for cross-departmental procurement options which will yield economies of scale and other efficiencies. It is expected that an examination of the opportunities for streamlining and gaining efficiencies in the procurement process itself will occur, especially through the use of modern financial systems and payment options. If this can be masterminded in the way it is being set out by the Department, obviously the economies of scale should be quite substantial.

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