Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 January 2014
308. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if small and medium enterprises represented an increased proportion of companies tendering for public contracts in 2013; if they represented an increased proportion of awarded companies; the number of SMEs that were awarded public sector contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4196/14]
View answerI am aware that public procurement can be an important source of business for Irish small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Currently public service procurement activity is transacted by several hundred contracting authorities throughout the State. As a result where data is collected it's quality is inconsistent and the process of collecting the data is fragmented. Accordingly, a significant element of the procurement reform programme will be a move towards centralisation of data collection in the area of procurement activity. The centralisation of data collection will not only enable the Office of Government Procurement to procure in a more cost efficient manner, it will also ensure that the level of SMEs participation can be accurately measured.
Whilst data on SME participation is currently not collected centrally, the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) has analysed a representative subset of data in detail and the results show that in 2013 75% of contracts awarded to Irish companies were to Irish SMEs, versus an average of 60% in 2012.
Finally, the OGP is examining ways to improve data collection in respect of SMEs participation in public procurement processes.
