Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I thank the Minister of State for his reply, the procurement policy operated by State bodies is the Government's responsibility. The fact of the matter is that small local companies are being frozen out. Templemore is just one example of what is, unfortunately, happening in the vast majority of tendering processes nationally. I can set out other examples besides the issue with the quality of the coffee which I cited in my opening statement. The quality of products being sourced is not up to the standard that obtained previously in the depot. There were 14 or 15 local companies supplying products to the depot previously and they provided valuable local employment which was essential to the local economy. All bar one lost out in this procurement process, however.

I have seen the tender process that was forced on these small companies. It was not possible for small companies to do what the procurement process demanded. It was extremely expensive and required the expenditure of a great deal of money in a lot of cases. Questions were also asked of suppliers which it was unreasonable to expect them to respond to. No small company could deal with them. One example relates to a local fruit company which had been supplying the depot for over 30 years and was asked what it would do in the event of a storm and about its capacity to source product. During the storm event which took place a couple of months ago, however, it was ironic to find the depot having to turn back to local suppliers to source supplies for the students and employees of the college. The procurement process which has been put in place renders it impossible for small local companies to win contracts.

I make the following point forcefully to the Minister of State. We now have proof that the product being supplied to one particular State institution is of an inferior quality by comparison to what was supplied previously. I am sure the same will apply elsewhere. This warrants investigation and I ask that one takes place.

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