Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 July 2016
496. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if all provisions from EU directives pertaining to increasing the share of public procurement contracts by SMEs have been implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22183/16]
View answerPublic 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.
There is, however, a recognition at EU level a recognition of the need to promote and facilitate SME participation in public procurement. The New EU Directives on Procurement are intended to make it easier for businesses and SMEs to tender for public sector procurement contracts. Specific measures aimed at facilitating SME participation in public procurement include the following:
- financial capacity criterion is now less demanding; it is generally limited to twice contract value;
- electronic methods of communication is now mandated in parts of the award process;
- the use of a self-declaration European Single Procurement Document by suppliers is introduced to reduce red tape;
- there is the discretion to divide public contracts into lots, with the proviso that opting not to divide a contract into lots must be explained in the procurement documents;
- there is a provision for "consortia bidding" to encourage SME involvement;
- there is explicit provision for prior discussion with suppliers and independent experts, with safeguards against distorting competition or violating transparency and non-discrimination principles;
- there are reductions in the time limits for receipt of tenders by 30%;
- Member States are required to report back to the Commission every 3 years on SME participation in public procurement
These measure were transposed into Irish law in May of this year by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP). A number of them had been accelerated into policy in Ireland in 2014 by way of Circular 10/14, which was broadly welcomed by SME representative bodies at the time.
The OGP 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. Procurement reform is being carried out in a manner that recognises the clear importance of small and medium-sized enterprises to the country's economic recovery.
