We are the Government for all citizens of Ireland and have to make sure the services we provide to the public are equitable and fair, no matter where one lives, in so far as possible.

I believe Deputy Ó Broin said earlier that the majority of uncommenced apartments with full planning permission are in the buy to rent sector. I wanted to correct that, because there are twice as many apartments, around 19,000, in the build to sell sector with full planning permission that have not yet commenced. Only about half of that number are in the build to rent sector. The scheme is exclusively for build to sell. Research has shown that the State needs, on average, 33,000 houses to be built every year to 203…

I signal my intention to introduce an amendment to section 1 on Report Stage. The definition of "contracting authority" in section 1 differs from the definition in the 2016 procurement regulations. It is possible this difference could lead to ambiguity and confusion in the application of the provisions of the Bill and the procurement regulations. There are two differing definitions of "contracting authority". I do not need to go through what they both are. I intend to clear this up on Report Stage.

I thank the Senator. I would also be happy to engage with her during that time.

I again signal my intention to introduce an amendment to section 3 on Report Stage. Section 3(4) proposes to prevent contracting authorities from including a best price-quality ratio where the price is greater than 50% of the criteria. The Attorney General advises this provision seems inconsistent with the wording and purpose of the directive and that it could be considered to breach the State's obligations under the directive. The directive requires contracts to be awarded on the basis of objective criteria that s…

In broad terms, what we are trying to do with public procurement is get a good price. We want to get value for money for the State and for the taxpayer but at the same time, we want to get the highest quality product and we want to do our purchasing in a transparent way. Lastly, we have strategic procurement, which is a new thing and the issue here is our compliance with Government objectives in terms of climate change, green procurement, social procurement and so on. These are the overall goals of procurement. I s…

I want to indicate my intention to introduce an amendment on Report Stage. This is a consequence of the proposed amendment to section 3. If we amend section 3, we are likely to require an amendment to section 4 too. From a policy perspective, the requirement under section 4 of the Bill for the chief deciding officer, for example, a Secretary General or a CEO, to make a declaration on every procurement procedure where price is the only award criterion could be onerous and unnecessary. Such a declaration may be subje…

I agree with what Senator Flynn said. We have to make sure our small businesses are winning contracts. The majority of our procurement spend goes to SMEs but we need to keep a watch on that. To make sure I am listening to people, every quarter I meet the representatives of the different small businesses and I meet as many small businesses I can. I encourage any small businesses that are having difficulty selling to the Government to contact me directly.

Section 5 concerns the "Application of European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 and related matters". I intend to bring forward an amendment to section 5. As advised by the Attorney General, amendment is necessary to ensure the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 do not have greater scope and application under this Bill than they do under the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 itself. Section 5(1) of the Bill applies to contracting authorities instead of to an "organ of the …

There are times when the procurement rules can be short-circuited, compressed or skipped altogether and they tend to occur when there is an emergency. I mean one cannot hold a tender for something when, for example, something is on fire. We saw this during the pandemic. When one has to buy syringes or something one may not have three months to get the best price. The same applies during the Ukrainian crisis with trying to find accommodation and food. One can reach over and pick the first available largest thing tha…

I agree with the Senator. Labour Court judgments can be used as grounds for exclusion because they are court judgments even if they are ignored.

On a point of order, I believe that amendments Nos. 1 and 2 conflict with each other as they seek to amend the same sentence. If one amendment is passed does that mean that the next one falls?

The first problem I have with this is that if we, as the amendment indicates, directly substitute "comply" with "consider" we end up with a sentence stating the contracting authorities shall "consider with" any guidelines issued under subsection (1). There is an additional word, "with", in there, which makes sense when it is "comply with" but does not when it is "consider with". I do not know what the rules of the House or its Standing Orders are, but that wording does not make sense to me. I am happy to take out "…

I am sorry to interrupt. I am happy with "shall consider", but I will flag that we will change it on Report Stage because "consider with" does not make sense.

I want to indicate my intention to table an amendment to this section of the Bill. Section 6 sets out provision for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to the issue of guidelines on social considerations, which contracting authorities are obliged to follow. Notwithstanding the amendment tabled by Senator Higgins today, the prescriptive nature of these guidelines could lead to increased legal challenge to procurement competitions and this could disrupt the provision of goods and services for t…

I thank Deputies for providing me with this opportunity to update them on the plans of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in regard to a just transition. Ireland is committed to achieving a just transition while ensuring nobody is left behind as we move to a climate-neutral economy and society. The climate action plan 2021 places a just transition at its core. The plan sets out four principles that will guide policymaking and implementation over the coming years to ensu…

I thank the Senator. The Waste Management (Prohibition of Waste Disposal By Burning) Regulations 2009 make it an offence to dispose of waste by uncontrolled burning. As an exemption, Article 5 of the regulations provides for the permissible disposal of agricultural waste by burning under certain conditions, including, among others, where the material to be burned consists of uncontaminated wood, trees, tree trimmings, leaves, brush and similar waste. It should be noted that the exemption only applies to waste gener…

I thank Senator Boyhan. He is right in saying that is the key point. The exemption will run out in 2023 and it is not intended to extend it. A feasibility study is being carried out by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It will involve public consultation and proper engagement with stakeholders, including farmers, who are the most important people in this context. That process will result in a report in the third quarter, which will lead to a decision on whether an extra extension to the exemption …

I thank Senator Ward for raising this matter. I will provide some background on this issue. The Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 gives expression to the constitutional right that free legal aid must be granted, in certain circumstances, for the defence of persons of insufficient means in criminal proceedings. The Judiciary is responsible for the granting of legal aid. Legal services under the criminal legal aid scheme are provided by private solicitors and barristers who have notified their availability to und…

There have been negotiations with other professions where fees have been adjusted but that has involved changes to the contract and productivity improvements, which involved long negotiations with the representative bodies. My Department is available for continuing discussions with the Bar Council of Ireland, if that does go ahead. I take the Senator's point about his worry there would be a reduction in the quality of service, the numbers available or the ability to recruit or retain people. My Department so far do…