Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

The Government is supporting SMEs generally through the range of initiatives I have outlined but under EU procurement law and the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and equal treatment, it cannot set out deliberately to discriminate in their favour when tendering for goods and services. As long as I hold this office, and I am sure my successors will adopt the same attitude, I will insist that procurement practices in the NPS meet the highest standards of integrity without interference from Ministers, lobbyists or anyone else. It is important for Ireland's reputation as to how we do business publicly. Public procurement is of great strategic significance to our economy and to the firms operating within it, and for that reason we will always seek to make procurement as user-friendly as possible within the law. I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for his indulgence.

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