Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree that fantastic work is being done by local employment service providers across the country. The local employment service in my county of Monaghan is led by Mr. Francis McCarron, who does good work helping people with career guidance, CV and interview preparation, and upskilling and training supports. This is the case in many local employment services and I assure the Deputy that I recognise the great work being carried out by many of our local employment service providers. As Minister, however, I must follow the legal advice that I am given. To do otherwise would be a dereliction of my duties. The clear legal advice that I have been given by the Attorney General is that my Department is in breach of EU procurement rules and we need a competitive procurement process for these contracts. In addition, the Comptroller and Auditor General found in his 2019 report that the Department was not in adherence to public procurement policy.

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