Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That strikes me as one of the most ludicrous reasons I have heard in the Seanad in the past four years for not having a licensed operator apply for a contract. Consider, for example, the procedure applicable to a public transport operator who wishes to pitch for a contract under the rural transport scheme.The argument that cost effectiveness is the only issue is quite wrong. We need to make sure that we get the best operators who work to the highest standards and ensure the waste is disposed of properly. In any tendering process at local government level, one would expect tenderers to be known operators in the relevant industry. Anyone worth their salt in the waste disposal industry should have a track record which could be taken into account if they were getting a contract. Not having an onus on the contractor to have a licence before they can apply for a tender strikes me as ludicrous. I cannot see how such a requirement affects costs. Any operators I know of will have economies of scale and know their business inside out. To argue that this amendment’s provisions would exclude people or be anti-competitive does not wash with me. What we need to ensure is that waste disposal is carried out to the highest standards. Licensing of the industry in this scenario is crucial.