Vol. 432 No. 2
78 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the degree to which Irish manufactured office supplies and equipment, including computer supplies, are provided to her Department or to offices the estimate for which falls within his group; the extent to which such requirements are met by overseas manufacturers where Irish alternatives exist; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
Records are not kept of the country of manufacture of the very large range of supplies and equipment, including computer equipment, purchased by my Department and the offices under its aegis and such records could be compiled only by the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of staff time and resources. The position is that such purchases are always made in accordance with Government contract procedures and, where relevant, EC contract regulations.
In practice, a substantial proportion of the purchases of supplies and equipment, with the exception of some specialised equipment which is not available in this country, is made through the Government Supplies Agency and from Irish companies and the Irish subsidiaries of international companies.
