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Information Technology.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2006

Tuesday, 4 July 2006

Questions (826, 827, 828, 829, 830)

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

842 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the information technology purchasing requirements, for both hardware and software, in his Department for the second half of 2006; the requirements for which tender requests have been issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26046/06]

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Ruairí Quinn

Question:

843 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his Department’s information technology purchasing policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26061/06]

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Written answers

I propose to take Question Nos. 842 and 843 together.

In accordance with Government decision S180/20/10/0839 of 2nd November 2005 on the Abridged Estimates Volume for 2006, I can confirm that I have reviewed the estimates for consultancy expenditure, including ICT expenditure, in my Department in 2006. All procurement will be undertaken in full compliance with the Department of Finance guidelines. Purchasing requirements that do not fall into the category of external support, are also carried out in compliance with both Department of Finance guidelines on procurement, and internal controls for purchasing and procurement.

The majority of information technology expenditure for the second half of 2006 will be on systems, software, equipment and services that have already been tendered for or are as a result of existing contracts and framework agreements.

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

844 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the percentage of information technology spend in his Department that went to Irish SMEs in each year from 2002 to date in 2006; the percentage for European Union and European Economic Area SMEs; if systems are in place in his Department’s procurement procedures to give preference to SMEs, such as the weighting system in place in the Local Government Computer Services Board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26076/06]

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Ruairí Quinn

Question:

846 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he is taking to support the development of the indigenous software industry through his Department’s public procurement process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26106/06]

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I propose to take Questions Nos. 844 and 846 together.

The detailed breakdown requested is not available in my Department, as information on the status of suppliers is not supplied by them in the format specified in the Question. The majority of my Department's information technology contracts would not be of an order of magnitude that would be likely to discourage interest from SMEs. Even in larger contracts, my Department generally accommodates subcontracting arrangements and consortia bids as long as all parties and their roles are clearly identified in tender responses. However, in line with public procurement requirements, marks in the evaluation system operated by my Department for IT contracts are potentially available to all participants in the tendering process.

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

845 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the average size of information technology procurement contracts in his Department; the median size of such contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26091/06]

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Based on contracts for hardware and software supply and external support, as well as IT development contracts entered into by my Department over the last 12 months, the average size of information technology procurement contracts is €693,852; and the median is €60,751. All figures are inclusive of VAT. The large disparity between the median and the average is due to a small number of large contracts that relate to the National Vehicle and Driver File.

Question No. 846 answered with QuestionNo. 844.
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