Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I understand that exclusions are very difficult. I have studied procurement law and realise that if one does have an exclusion then one is more likely to be challenged. This is why it is really good to have price quality from the beginning, otherwise when a company with a poor track record offers the lowest price then one must award it the contract unless one goes through a formal exclusion process. However, price quality allows one to reward good practice. It is a lot easier to encourage and reward good practice than to penalise bad practice or a bad record. As the Minister of State has said, one could reward companies that have references and can show they have a track record for delivering on time. One can give that benefit.