Mr. Adrian Kane:

Deputy Murphy touched on these issues. In an ideal world, the service absolutely should be remunicipalised. It is similar to what we are doing now in public transport, where some of the contracts are done via direct provision and others are put out for public tender. We have come to this meeting after considerable thought. We have looked at the legal framework and tried to see how to unwind this and what steps are necessary to get to a sustainable economy, given some deep pockets of private sector providers who would challenge change. I do not believe there is any way around the issue other than by getting back to a stage of public procurement in which very strong criteria are set out with regard to labour, environmental, quality standards, etc. I do not disagree with the Senator. It would be good to be able to wave a wand and have remunicipalisation in the morning. We are saying we need to go back. Deputy Bruton asked about existing competitors and their rights.