Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am fed up of coming in here and being told the Government wants to work with the Opposition but the Opposition and Sinn Féin do not give the Government any ideas and do not do anything. Every time I come in here with any kind of a Bill, all I hear from Government is that it will kick the can down the road for nine months, it will not engage on it, it disagrees, it will not bring the Bill to Committee Stage, it will not have the discussion or look at it. It does my head in. We put work into these things. We look at these proposals and we are willing to work. I was very clear in my opening statement that I am happy to work with the Government on this, as my colleague, Deputy Doherty also said. We can bring it to Committee Stage and look at the different suggestions and amendments the Government has. However, again from the Government the answer is "No". The Government is not happy to work with the Opposition on different Bills it is bringing forward. This is the fourth piece of legislation that I have brought before the Dáil. That is not just an easy thing we do overnight. It takes a lot of work. If the Government is not willing to engage with the Opposition on different Bills and proposals, I am really disheartened and shocked.

The Government is not implementing the stuff that needs to be implemented to ensure this is dealt with. The Minister of State was talking about cost overruns. We are not saying this is a panacea for cost overruns, far from it. I said that very clearly. We need to look at the issue of abnormally lowball offers, however. This is not just something my party is talking about. It is something those on the Government benches have spoken about as well. There is no definition for that. That is what the experts in procurement law say.

There is no clear definition. The Minister of State said that in deciding to award a public contract, a balance needs to be struck between value for money and a quality project outcome. We are all saying that. It is clear that it needs to be done. We are not saying it needs to be in just one sense or the other. The Minister of State stated the existing regulations already impose a duty on contracting authorities to require economic operators to explain the price or cost proposed where tenders seem abnormally low in relation to works, supplies and services. I will table a parliamentary question to find out how many bidders that Departments have disqualified on grounds of abnormally low tenders. I would be really interested in knowing that. The Minister of State also stated the provisions in the Bill seek to define an abnormally low tender where no such definition exists in the regulations or EU directives. We have a definition. The Minister of State is concerned about the definition. We would be willing to work with him on this. That is the whole point of this Parliament. The whole point is that we are supposed to work together to get the best outcome for the taxpayer and ordinary people. To be honest, I have not seen many best outcomes for ordinary people from this Government at all. I am really annoyed about this. As the Minister of State knows, I am always willing to work with the Government. I am always very calm and collected — most of the time anyway — but this really does annoy me.

The Minister of State said the Bill, as drafted, would drive tender prices higher than might otherwise be bid as contractors seek to avoid the examination that follows the identification of an abnormally low tender based on the formula proposed. It should not be very difficult. We are not trying to make it more difficult; we are just trying to deal with the issue. We should not be running scared of this. We know we have an issue so we should deal with it and make it easier for people.

The Minister of State also stated the Bill could disadvantage smaller contractors who may be able to offer prices that are lower than those of their larger competitors. I said very clearly in my opening speech that there could be reasons for having a lower tender. That is brilliant; fair play to those concerned. The Minister of State, however, is referring to disadvantaging smaller contractors. Unfortunately, my colleague Deputy Stanley is gone. He has done significant work on community wealth building. I cannot wait to see the work the Government has done in this regard.

I have said most of what I have time to say. I am genuinely disappointed. We are putting together legislation and want to work with the Government and have the best outcome. We are all supposed to be doing our best for the public, the taxpayer. The Government's position is really disheartening and frustrating. I will be introducing another Bill in a few weeks and I look forward to the Minister of State supporting it.

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