Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister and Minister of State every success in their new roles. Government procurement costs €8.5 billion per annum, or €23 million per day, and should be used as an employment creation mechanism as well as getting value for money for the taxpayer. Increasingly, it has become the preserve of bigger companies and consortiums which are coming together to tender for contracts thereby excluding local SMEs, particularly in the education sector where locally based SMEs are expected to fund schools and institutions.

One of the requirements of Circular 10/14 was that buyers should publish an award notice which indicates the value of the contract awarded and the tender. In 2014, only 24% of buyers published an award notice. What percentage of buyers published award notices for 2015 and 2016 to date?

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