Vol. 482 No. 6
146 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she has satisfied herself regarding the cost of competitiveness of the procurement policy of the semi-State companies under the aegis of her Department; and the proposals, if any, she has to improve the current situation in view of the collective purchasing power of these State enterprises. [18603/97]
It is a basic principle of public procurement policy that a procedure based on competitive tendering should always be used and this applies to the semi-State bodies under the aegis of my Department.
The EU's Public Procurement Directives set out detailed rules on the purchase of goods and services. These rules apply to the procurement processes of the semi-State bodies under the aegis of the Department of Public Enterprise.
The implementation of the directives and the purchasing arrangements adopted by individual semi-State bodies for goods and services for their operations are matters for the boards concerned.
The report of the task force to review controls in the commercial State companies made a number of recommendations in relation to the procurement of goods and services. I am currently in consultation with my colleague the Minister for Finance with a view to having these recommendations implemented as soon as possible.
