Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am mindful of the points the Deputy makes. TAS was set up as an advisory group 12 months ago and will be subject to review next month. I will be very interested to see the outcome of that review. No doubt we will be making improvements to the service on the basis of practical experience over the last 12 months.

It all underscores the fact that the establishment of the Office of Government Procurement has been such an innovation. It is the first time the Government in all its agencies, guises and buying divisions, has consolidated its approach to the SME sector. The OGP talks directly to the Small Firms Association, ISME, IBEC and so on. Over time, the process will improve.

In terms of the Deputy's specific points, for example on consortium bidding, one of the things we are encouraging SMEs to do is bind together to bid for domestic Government contracts, and also to get a share of the European market, at which they are now increasingly looking. That will all be good news for SMEs in Ireland.

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