asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is aware that the Industrial Development Authority recently advertised for quantity surveyors and compiled a panel of quantity surveyors as consultants; and that this procedure operates to the detriment of some quantity surveyors who are not on the panel; and if he will ensure that no restriction operates in respect of persons to be selected for inclusion on the panel.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Quantity Surveyors Panel.
22.
I am aware that the Industrial Development Authority, following public advertisement, recently set up panels of consultants, including quantity surveyors, for use only in connection with the authority's own programme of advance factory construction. I see nothing unfair in this procedure. The arrangement is an administrative one which is within the competence of the IDA and I have no function in the matter.
Could the Minister say whether these consultants are furnished to foreign industrialists who wish to establish factories here or is it solely confined to the IDA?
It is solely for use by the IDA for advice in relation to the setting up of their own advance factories. I am positively informed by the IDA that lists of firms on the IDA panel are not and will not be made available to individual firms which are constructing their own factory premises.
Does the Minister not consider that it would be more appropriate to have the same procedure as that adopted by the Board of Works whereby a panel of all qualified consultants for particular work is compiled and then they are taken in turn from that panel, whereas in this way persons equally well qualified are excluded from the panel and those who have similar qualifications are included. In this way there is discrimination between one consultant and another, both of whom have identical qualifications?
I accept this but the IDA which is autonomous in this regard decided to advertise in the first instance and those are consultants under one heading or another that they propose to call on in connection with advice relating to the creation of their own advance factories. In fact, even if no such panel were set up the IDA would be technically free to select, perhaps, any individual in any given area. I understand from the IDA that they have been selected to a great extent on a geographical basis in relation to covering the country as a whole in view of plans by the IDA for advance regional factory buildings.
Could the Minister say if quantity surveyors for the IDA are selected on the same basis as auctioneers are selected by the Land Commission?
I am not responsible for the manner in which auctioneers for the Land Commission are selected——
Is the Minister bragging about that?
No. My information from the IDA is—I want to make it quite clear that there is certainly no reference to the Minister at all in relation to this—that in fact applications for inclusion on the IDA panel were invited in the national press and this covers architects, quantity surveyors and engineers. There were 191 applications received. There were reviewed by a technical committee which included representatives of the Department of Local Government and the Department of Education as well as the IDA. The committee recommended 65 applicants for inclusion in the panel.
Is the Minister aware that the consultants who were excluded have similar qualifications to those included and that they feel there is discrimination on no known grounds other than the fact that they were not included. Their qualifications are identical but they are excluded from membership of the panel.
The panel is only concerned with proposals by the IDA. The panel is not a list that is handed out to an industrialist who is coming in here and who would normally perhaps be seeking advice from his solicitor or accountant. Certainly, if the IDA were asked for advice by an industrialist coming in and proposing to set up his own factory, he would be referred to the appropriate professional bodies.