Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 June 2014
235. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department is being provided with figures from Departments and local government to indicate the number of public contracts split into lots as recommended for some contracts under Circular 10/14: initiatives to assist small and medium enterprises in public procurement, so as to enable SMEs to compete for contracts. [26722/14]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, my Department has 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. Amongst the measures announced, the new guidance encourages buyers to break large contracts down into lots where it is reasonable to do so to maximise participation by SMEs competing for smaller elements of these larger contracts. This should be done in a way that does not compromise efficiency or value for money or impose any undue risks on the State.
It should be pointed out that a number of the categories of goods and services may be better suited to single supplier national arrangements. However the greater use, where appropriate, of multi-supplier frameworks can address local supplier issues while also ensuring on-going cost competitiveness of the framework itself. Such multi-supplier frameworks may offer SMEs the opportunity to participate in national level contracts, thereby offering valuable reference work when competing for public procurement contracts in other jurisdictions.
Data on the splitting of tenders into lots which has been taken from the Government eTenders portal indicates that 587 tenders above the EU threshold were published between 1 January 2014 and 19 June 2014. Of these tenders, 150 were split into lots (26%). Since the publication of Circular 10/2014 on 17 April 2014, 243 tenders have been published of which 71 were split into lots (29%).
The reform of procurement across the public service is a key element of the public service reform programme. Public procurement savings enable public service organisations to deliver much-needed services from the tighter budgets within which they are now required to operate. Reforms are being carried out in a manner that recognises the clear importance of small and medium-sized enterprises in this country's economic recovery. 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.
