We cannot help it. We are all very excited about this Bill.

Sentiment score: 0.05

We did not think we would be this excited, to be honest, as Deputy Gannon said. I nearly had a heart attack when I thought I was going to be talking on public procurement because it is not something you think about every day but, as the Deputy says, it is vitally important. As education spokesperson, I have to say we can see this in our schools every day. Where we see that is when, for example, €5 billion has been spent on prefabs over the last five years. Prefabs are a stopgap or are put in because things are not going right in schools - where buildings have not been built or are falling apart or whatever. What we see now is prefabs being used for special classes. This is not a good use of public money because it costs €5 billion and they are there for years. We need to see forward planning for school buildings. As Deputy Gibney has already said, we see it in hot school meals - a vital universal programme that is rolled out in primary schools. We need to see it in secondary schools as well. The procurement there should not be on the basis of the lowest cost. The cost is the cost. We know what it costs for hot school meals. I would argue that we should increase that, but it has to be about quality. The outcome of public services in this country is vital to the health and well-being of every person. We can see that from education and health. What is really important is that it is not a race to the bottom and it is not a race to make sure that we are undercutting or able to provide the best tender or whatever. It should be about quality because quality public services are what every citizen in this country deserves. It is vitally important that we are able to explain where taxpayers' money goes and that we are using it efficiently and effectively. I thank Deputy Gibney and Senator Higgins for all their work on this. As their video on Instagram said, this is not the sexist Bill that will come to the floor of the House but it is hugely important and it impacts every part of our lives. When we do not see that every day, that is when it is working well, as Deputy Gannon said. We have so many examples from my constituency, such as the children's hospital, of it going desperately wrong and children ageing out of a service because it has not been effectively managed. I thank Deputy Gibney and Senator Higgins for all their work,.

Sentiment score: 0.16