Seán Fleming
Question:100. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the total gross annual cost of public sector pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20401/14]
View answerPublic Sector Pensions Expenditure
Questions (100)
Written answers
Total gross Exchequer expenditure on Public Service pensions in 2013 was €2.815 billion and the estimate for 2014 is €2.872 billion. I refer the Deputy to the Databank on my Department's website, http://databank.per.gov.ie/. Information on this Databank includes details of Public Service staff numbers and pensioners, the corresponding pay and pensions bill for previous years, as well as the estimates for expenditure in 2014.
Public Sector Pensions Data
Questions (101)
Seán Fleming
Question:101. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form the total annual yield from superannuation paid by public servants in each year from 2009 to 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20402/14]
View answerWritten answers
The estimated yield to Exchequer receipts from pension contributions by public servants in respect of the period 2009 to 2013 is as follows:
|
Year |
Amount |
|
2009 |
€578m |
|
2010 |
€537m |
|
2011 |
€540m |
|
2012 |
€528m |
|
2013 |
€514m (Provisional) |
Public Sector Pensions Data
Questions (102)
Seán Fleming
Question:102. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form the gross annual yield since 2011 from the public service pension reduction paid by retired public servants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20403/14]
View answerWritten answers
Since its introduction on 1 January 2011 as provided for in the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2010, the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR) is estimated to have delivered annual savings to the public finances as follows: 2011 - €100 million; 2012 - €100 million; 2013 - €114 million. These savings constitute estimates of reduced pension payments attributable to PSPR. There are no actual inflows to the public finances or payments by pensioners associated with PSPR, since the measure operates by reducing pension payment rates at source.
While there have been several changes to PSPR rates and rules since 2011, the only such change with significant yield implications occurred last year, when the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013 altered the PSPR regime in order to reduce annual public service pensions valued in excess of €32,500. This PSPR alteration, which took effect on 1 July 2013, is the main reason for the increase in the estimated PSPR saving in 2013.
Public Procurement Contracts
Questions (103)
Clare Daly
Question:103. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will review the procurement policies of Departments which have resulted in a scenario whereby 28% of Government procurement goes outside the country as opposed to the EU average of 1% as a result of the fact that price-led criteria and centralised buying have become a focus. [20404/14]
View answerWritten answers
I should point out at the outset that no such policies exist whereby a percentage of public contracts are awarded to foreign companies. Contracts are awarded following a competitive process conducted in compliance with the established procurement rules and procedures.
Under EU Directives on public procurement public works, supplies and service contracts above certain thresholds must be advertised on the Official Journal of the EU and awarded on the basis of objective and non-restrictive criteria. For works contracts the threshold is €5.186 million; for supplies and service contracts awarded by Government Departments the threshold is €134,000 and for the remainder of public bodies the threshold is €207,000. The threshold for supplies and service contracts of entities operating in utility sectors (water, energy, transport and postal) is €414,000. For contracts below these thresholds, the general requirement is that they be advertised on the national public procurement website www.etenders.gov.ie or, depending on value, awarded on the basis of a competitive process of direct invitation to an adequate number of suitable suppliers.
The aim of these European rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money. It would be a breach of the rules for a public body to favour or discriminate against particular candidates on grounds of nationality and there are legal remedies which may be used against any public body infringing these rules
The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) is responsible for producing annual statistical information in relation to above-EU threshold procurement activity by the Irish public sector and for providing these statistics to the European Commission. The EU average for cross border activity in relation to above threshold procurements is 1.4%. I am informed that the figure of 28% is not based on OGP data. The following information has been compiled by the OGP and is based on data available on above EU threshold awards:
- In 2011, 10.55% (valued at €240 million) of the total known awarded contracts above threshold by the State went to non-domestic companies. This represents less than 5% of the overall annual public procurement spend (approximately €13.1 billion). I am advised by the OGP that more up to date data on above EU threshold contracts for 2012 and 2013 will be available later this year;
- Analysis of cross border procurement by country, carried out by the EU Commission in 2012, shows that small countries tend to award more cross border contracts (the range is between 5 and 15% in 2011). The comparable figure for Ireland is 10.55%. In Ireland's case the reasons for this level of cross border procurement would include:
- There are a significant number of procurement categories which are not supplied locally (i.e. fuel, vehicles, heavy machinery, pharmaceuticals, IT and certain telecommunications equipment);
- The fact that the vast majority of public procurement opportunities in Ireland are advertised in the English language makes our tender documents accessible to an increasing number of economic operators across Europe, for whom English is the preferred second language;
In terms of the overall data, the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Poland and Italy are responsible for about three quarters of all EU public procurement, both in number of contracts and in value. This distorts the average figure in favour of large economies that have natural resources and heavy industry base capable of meeting the majority of their national public procurement needs.
It is important to remember that open tendering is a two way street and that it provides Irish companies with opportunities to compete abroad. The public procurement market in the EU is estimated to be valued in excess of €2.4 trillion. In this regard, it is worth pointing out that the open market regime offers opportunities for Irish companies to win business abroad and reliable EU studies indicate that many Irish businesses are successful in this regard.
Garda Station Refurbishment
Questions (104)
Billy Kelleher
Question:104. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the temporary Garda portacabin in Blarney, County Cork will be removed as the Garda station is now open. [20435/14]
View answerWritten answers
The Commissioners of Public Works are in discussions with An Garda Síochána regarding the relocation of the prefabricated building to a suitable alternative location.
Public Procurement Contracts
Questions (105, 106, 107)
John Lyons
Question:105. Deputy John Lyons asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the office of Government procurement will place a greater emphasis on long-term benefits to the economy when awarding procurement contracts; and if this can include the benefit of job creation to local communities and the benefits to smaller companies from splitting contracts between several companies. [20439/14]
View answerJohn Lyons
Question:106. Deputy John Lyons asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the office of Government procurement will give further consideration and assistance to groups of smaller Irish companies bidding for procurement contracts as a group due to the benefits to the economy and local job creation arising from such contracts. [20440/14]
View answer
Terence Flanagan
Question:107. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the measures he has taken on procurement to ensure that smaller companies have a fair chance to bid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20456/14]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 105 to 107, inclusive, together.
Public Procurement is governed by EU and National rules. The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money. It would be a breach of the EU rules for a public body to favour or discriminate against particular candidates on grounds such as nationality, organisational size, etc. and there are legal remedies which may be used against any public body infringing these rules.
The Government is committed to maximising procurement opportunities which actively assist job growth and benefit the wider economy. The public sector has an immense purchasing power, spending in the region of €8.5 billion per annum on goods and services. This is in addition to expenditure on public works. This level of expenditure by the public sector affords significant business opportunities for firms that can supply the products and services that are required by public bodies.
The Government also acknowledges the significant role that SMEs play in the Irish economy and is committed to ensuring that SMEs are fully engaged with public sector procurement and the opportunities presenting. In order to encourage greater SME participation the Office of Government Procurement has conducted a targeted programme of education for suppliers who wish to learn more about doing business with the Irish Public Service. This programme consists of seminars, workshops and large scale 'Meet the Buyer' events hosted nationwide. These 'Meet the Buyer' events are run in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland and InterTrade-Ireland. To date the OGP has facilitated workshops and presented at seminars to over 4,500 SMEs nationwide. These events afforded suppliers an opportunity to meet and discuss the issues with public service buyers and provide networking opportunities for suppliers and encourage consortia-building.
My Department has also recently finished reviewing and updating existing guidelines and procedures aimed at promoting SME participation in public procurement. Circular 10/14, launched on 17 April, sets out new initiatives aimed at opening up opportunities for small businesses to bid for State business. These new guidelines are aimed at reducing the administrative burden on businesses that want to tender for public contracts. The guidelines promote the setting of relevant and proportionate financial capacity, turnover and insurance levels for tendering firms and the sub-dividing larger contracts into lots, where appropriate, to enable SMEs to bid for these opportunities. The guidelines also encourage SMEs to form consortia where they are not of sufficient scale to tender in their own right and to register on www.etenders.gov.ie to ensure maximum exposure to tendering opportunities.
The guidelines accelerate some of the key business-friendly initiatives included under the new EU Public Procurement Directive, currently being transposed by my Department. The SME Working Group, established under the Government's Action Plan for Jobs, was consulted on the new Guidelines. The SME Working Group is chaired by the Office of Government Procurement and includes representatives from ISME, IBEC, Inter Trade Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the Competition Authority, the Small Firms Association, Chambers Ireland and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Ireland. The new Circular has been broadly welcomed by industry representative associations.
The reform of public procurement across the public service is on-going and will continue to provide opportunities to the SME sector to win business. The Office of Government Procurement will continue to work with industry to ensure that winning government business is done in a fair, transparent and accessible way and to ensure that government procurement policies are business friendly.