Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I meant to say in my earlier reply that Deputy Cahill referred to different issues. We talked about procurement not working and then about the construction issue. In fact, procurement is working. Some €12 billion is spent by the State in Ireland on an annual basis. Over 90% of it is spent with Irish companies and of that over 50% is spent in the small and medium-sized enterprise, SME, sector. I chair the SME leadership group within the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We are constantly looking for Deputies who have particular issues to bring them forward to myself and I will discuss them with the Office of Government Procurement. The Office of Government Procurement is constantly looking at ways in which we can improve matters.

I acknowledge the points the Deputies raise on unacceptable behaviour in construction, which is a separate issue because it comes in under the construction contracts element of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and a complicating factor of which is that the covering legislation, Construction Contracts Act 2013, that former Senator Feargal Quinn brought in and that was then adopted by the Dáil, is now with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation. As a state or as a contracting authority, our contract is with the principal contractor. The law of the land states that we are required to pay when a certain stage is met, and we do that. We live up to our side of it. If there are contractors who are not living up to their side of it, there is a problem. That is why the enabling legislation was enacted and that is why I encourage people to familiarise themselves with it.

I can understand this issue will come to a head with the €116 billion the State is about to spend under Project Ireland 2040, part of which we announced today. While we do not want to have the same fields of white elephants roaming around the country as roamed around under a previous national development plan, we want to make sure that we get value for money but at the same time that people are properly looked after.

I will take the points the Deputies raised in relation to specific companies - it would not be appropriate to raise them in the House - and have a look at them with the Office of Government Procurement, OGP. I have already discussed the construction issues that the Deputies raised with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. I am committed to trying to see whether there are resolution methods that can be adopted without additional legislation. I will revert to both Deputies. I look forward to working with both Deputies and anybody else as well.

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