Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The concept of tendering for State contracts is, in principle, worthwhile, placing an obligation on the Government to get the best value for money for taxpayers. Several issues have arisen, however, in how the State's procurement process has been implemented. Ireland is a small open economy and has vulnerabilities that other European countries do not have. The size and scale of our economy has put Irish contractors at a distinct disadvantage in the process.

It has been brought to my attention that a product supplied by a company, which was successful in winning the tender to supply the Garda training college in Templemore, County Tipperary, does not match the normal standards for food labelling. The contract was won at the expense of a local producer who had supplied the college for many years. The product in question is a roasted coffee product. The following issues have been presented to me which are of serious concern.

The product is branded to suggest that it is from a company registered in Ireland. However, there is no such company registered in Ireland, despite the packaging implying so. The packaging implies that the product is roasted in a specific town in Ireland. I can emphatically state that there is no coffee roasterie in that town. There is a minimum of three different types of coffee making up this product but the packaging does not state this. There is no labelling as to the origin of these coffees. A high percentage of the coffee from the sample pack tested was damaged, under-roasted and of low quality and consistency. A list of ingredients is not labelled on the sample pack examined. This is one product from one supplier. I am offering the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, evidence that normal standards of food labelling and safety have not been adhered to.

This raises serious concern about the effectiveness of the State's procurement process and demands that the particular incident be properly investigated. On this evidence alone, it is clear the process is completely unable to guarantee the same standard of food which local companies supplied for generations.

I have raised this issue on at least four occasions over the past two years and it is now a matter of urgency that we see real change in the national procurement process. No account is made in the tendering process for the local supplier with generations of experience in the supply of quality, safe foods to the public sector. I can also quote a furniture company, an office stationery company and a building company in my home town of Thurles which have been frozen out from supplying the public sector. They offer well-paid sustainable jobs in our communities and can match price and service, yet the Government says "No thanks". The Government believes some big international supplier can do better than our indigenous companies but it is wrong. These big international suppliers cannot do it better than our own local Irish suppliers. In this case, the big international companies are supplying a substandard product with very questionable labelling. I remind the Minister of State that this is a food product that we are talking about. In this case alone, the State's procurement process has got it terribly wrong. No one can be expected to believe this is an isolated incident. With the hundreds of thousands of products being supplied to the public sector daily, there is every chance that this is not the only low-quality product being provided. I argue that the business model of these international suppliers involves replacing quality products with cheaper substitutes to secure contracts. The Government is being penny-wise and pound-foolish.

I ask the Minister of State formally today to begin a root and branch review of the process and to put at its heart quality of product and service throughout the tender process. I ask the Government to show some support for our local companies and to stop hiding behind EU regulations. For once, let us support Irish jobs in Irish companies.

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