Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to have the Minister of State here today. I concur with the reference made by Senator Cathal Byrne to Kent's in Wexford. I could not let it pass without mentioning Derek Kent, with whom I served on the Leinster council and several committees in the GAA. There was lots of oversight, and no better man for that than Derek Kent.

I will focus most on an issue that has been hit on by both contributors so far. We had a long discussion about the green public procurement strategy and the action plan in April when the document was released. It was certainly a step forward. The lack of awareness among SMEs of how to tender for public procurement is a massive issue. The way forward is probably through the local enterprise offices and county councils. There should be a grant-type system to enable small businesses to be aware of what they can tender for. I would say 90% of small businesses have no idea about the process, what is required or the paperwork. I find with a lot of that type of stuff that, once you get it in order the first time, it is there for a lifetime. Training is vital to make small businesses aware. I would support some type of grant to enable them to have the bit of time to resource it and get it in order. That would be a help to small businesses, which is part of this.

Oversight is most important. Practicality has to be front and centre as well. In public procurement, practicality still has to be one of the greatest factors, not just price and transparency. The practicalities of the decision-making process are most important. Just because it ticks boxes X, Y and Z, somebody should still be able to take a look at it and say that, although the boxes are all being ticked, it might not be the best man, lady or company for the job.

A lot of this has been thrashed out so far. I appreciate the Minister of State's time. She is a hard-working Minister of State and indeed has been very helpful any time we have been on to her office with the few queries. Keep up the good work.