Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Taoiseach made reference to the establishment of a Department to deal with public sector reform. Regardless of whatever adjustment he makes in the next few weeks, will he address this question by giving responsibility to a Minister or Minister of State to deal with public service reform? As the Taoiseach is aware, such a position was allocated many years ago to a Minister of State who had specific responsibility for it. I would like the Taoiseach to refer to his comments in that regard. He indicated he might close down two Ministries and make a readjustment, with a focus on public sector reform.

Has the plan for e-Government to which the Taoiseach referred been published? Can we get copies of it? There are serious possibilities for efficiencies and streamlining the manner in which business is done.

I and a number of my colleagues raised the matter of public procurement at a meeting with the OECD some weeks ago. The amount of public procurement tenders which go outside the country is in the order of 17%, compared to the European average which is only 1.7%. This means that many small businesses cannot tender for business in Ireland. It is too complex and costly. As I said before, we are exporting business. There are serious possibilities in terms of value for money and saving money by implementing a proper system of public procurement. There are European guidelines and regulations in place but it is an area on which the Taoiseach could usefully focus in order to get a much better response, in terms of efficiency, value and the provision of jobs for many smaller firms in Ireland.

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