Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive answer but it raises other questions. The questions it raises for me do not just involve the structural assessment of the schools and the number of children and parents who are going to be displaced in their lives as a result. Could we have a structural assessment of the system and of the use of public procurement tendering processes that put us in this place? This is not the first competitive tendering process that has been made a hames of in the past few weeks. We could look at broadband services, CervicalCheck, or the bus tendering process. We need to assess the structural reasons, the hows, the whys and the conditions under which Departments sit down and say let us give this crowd such and such a contract or let us give the broadband contract to this crowd.

The criteria are obviously a whole mess. These very expensive outcomes will cost the taxpayer, the State and ultimately the lives of children and their families.

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