Public Procurement: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-29
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Aidan Davitt (FF), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I am also delighted to welcome the Minister of State here. We served shoulder to shoulder here in the Seanad for many years. It is quite fitting that he is here in the Upper House today. I met an old adversary of his, Terry Leyden, in the corridors today. I well remember those two colossuses of politics clashing here in the Upper House, usually on the topic of Roscommon hospital if my memory serves me right. They had several heated debates here. I was remembering them with a wry smile when the Minister of State came in.
On the overview the Minister of State has just given us, I certainly welcome his proposals. They make a lot of sense, as he has outlined. A lot of work has gone into them. I would like clarification on one particular facet of this. I believe there is a general shift in the parameters for the awarding of contracts in favour of EU countries. This has been coming down the tracks for quite a while. The EU is publishing a memo on this at present. Will the Minister of State bring us up to speed on this? What effect is it going to have? There is definitely going to be a policy shift because heretofore we had companies from Turkey and lots of different places being awarded large contracts but this will shift decisions on contracts in favour of EU countries. This ties in with a lot of what my good friend, Senator Craughwell, has said. Will the Minister of State enlighten us about that when he gets an opportunity? I am not going to delay the House any further.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:52+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-29