Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome. It is great to see him taking a constructive approach to this Bill. Sinn Féin fully supports the Bill. We believe it is really important. I thought it might be appropriate to come in on this section because the issue of how we carry out procurement is crucial to changing our economy and our communities for the better. Sinn Féin is now very much wedded to policies of community wealth-building as it recognises its value. Procurement is central to that. The criteria could be changed to include factors such as a low carbon footprint, a living wage and trade union recognition. We know from how procurement is practised in other countries in Europe that the scope is there under the EU directives. I very much hope that, in the Minister of State's further discussions with Senator Higgins, the core principle of taking a broader approach to procurement, particularly with regard to the price-quality ratio, will be respected. Again, we very much value the Bill and are very happy to support it today.