Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)

This is a broad issue and I hope the Taoiseach and I are on the same side on this. How can the same companies, despite their records, win these contracts against very little competition? When it was asked how it had given this contract to Greyhound Waste in view of the problem it had with overcharging Iarnród Éireann, where it had to pay back more than €1 million, a spokesman for South Dublin County Council said that no one from the council who was involved with the sale of the refuse service to Greyhound was aware of any previous difficulties between Iarnród Éireann and Greyhound Waste. The council gave away a lucrative contract without even knowing about this history. Should that not have been the first question it asked?

Why is it necessary for county councils to continually use consultants, specifically Ernst & Young, which has a history the State in inquiring into at present, to select these companies for contracts? The Taoiseach could offer some comfort to the House on this, it was not something that happened on his watch but at least he could tell us that contracts of this sort will be examined more carefully by central Government and that local government has fallen down on its obligations to examine them properly.

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