Public Procurement is governed by well-established EU and National rules and guidelines. The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money.
It is Government policy that contracts are awarded on the basis of the "most economically advantageous tender" (MEAT) and candidates are assessed across a range of criteria such as delivery, running costs, cost effectiveness, quality, functional characteristics, technical merit, after-sales service and any other relevant factors chosen by the awarding body. The selection of award criteria and the allocation of weightings is a matter for the contracting authority based on the subject matter of the contract.
In relation to discrimination against small Irish business, 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.
Where tenderers wish to raise concerns in relation to a particular live tender process in the area of goods, services and minor works, they can avail of the informal Tender Advisory Service run by the Office of Government Procurement, details of which can be found at http://www.procurement.ie/news/2143. Where they wish to avail of the more formal legal process, the EU Remedies Regulations, in the case of above EU threshold competitions, provides a mechanism for tenderers to seek recourse through the courts if they feel that a procurement process was not carried out in an open, fair and transparent manner.
The Government recognises the very important role that SMEs play in the Irish economy and is committed to ensuring that SMEs are fully engaged with public sector procurement. For example, Circular 10/14 issued by my Department sets out a number measures aimed at promoting SME involvement in public sector procurement including encouraging more on-line open tendering, reducing bidders' turnover requirements, promoting the use of proportional and reasonable insurance requirements, and breaking larger contracts into lots. The Office of Government Procurement also works with the SME industry representative bodies (including ISME, IBEC, SFA, Chambers Ireland, and CIF) and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, InterTrade Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to promote the engagement of SMEs in public procurement.
Further details of initiatives introduced since 2013 to facilitate SME access to Public Procurement can be found in the "Progress Report of the High Level Group on SME Access to Public Procurement" jointly published last January by my Department and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The Report is published on the OGP website at http://www.procurement.ie/news/2727
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.
