Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The threshold of €25,000 has not been increased for at least ten years. In 2011, Deputies from all parties, including Government ones, set up a group in the House to see whether something could be done to increase the public procurement threshold. We spoke to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, who had responsibility for this matter at one time. The issue mostly had to do with supplying services to schools. The Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, referred to 94% of opportunities going to Ireland-based companies, but many of those could be internationals with offices in Ireland. That is what was happening.

The main issue facing small businesses is the rates they pay local authorities, but they cannot sell so much as a biro to those authorities. Instead, we often see large container lorries coming along to supply local authorities, the HSE and other public offices. The local shop in the town or village cannot supply them. The same issue obtains in respect of schools. As far as I am aware, one company is supplying most schools. There are small companies trying to sell little bits to schools, for example, chalk and cardboard. They are the ones being asked to sponsor various events in schools and the big multinationals get away without doing that. The whole issue needs to be examined.

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