Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response to the Bill and all Senators for their contributions. I especially thank Senators Keane and Hayden on the Government side. I accept that the Bill needs to be improved and hope we can use the momentum gained today to produce a law that will assist in increasing the number of jobs in and profitability of our small and medium enterprise sector as will as deliver additional value for money and social value for the economy and society.

Senators made good contributions to the debate. I hope the Bill will be advanced and I thank the Minister of State for allowing it to pass Second Stage. This matter should be a priority for the Government, which appears from the Minister of State's contribution to be the case. While many Ministers of all parties, including the Fianna Fáil Party, have spoken about this issue, we have not delivered at the necessary pace. Notwithstanding the improvements made and action taken, we must take up the baton and run with it to ensure legislation is enacted before the Government's term concludes. It is evident there is a will to do so across parties and on the Independent benches. This can also be achieved in the Dáil. The most important issue is that the enactment of legislation would send out a message to businesses that the Oireachtas cares about and supports them and will not place insurmountable roadblocks or barriers in their path.

I thank those who had an input in the Bill, specifically a good friend of mine, Brendan Bannigan, who is in the Public Gallery. He was very helpful when we discussed this legislation some months ago. I also thank Breda Gibson and a number of others who were extremely helpful and made their case as business owners and employers who have taken a risk to employ people and improve their communities.

I was struck by a number of points made by Senator Hayden, including on the need to avoid centralising contracts and tenders. We must unbundle and break up tenders to give people a fair shot.

I thank the Minister of State for accepting the Bill on Second Stage and look forward to making further progress in the coming months. Let us make this legislation a priority by ensuring this Oireachtas takes concrete action on the issue of procurement. I thank the officials present and all those who contributed to the debate.