Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 January 2019
625. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of employees in her Department authorised to engage in procurement; the number professionally qualified with organisations (details supplied); the number with other relevant professional qualifications; and the number with no professional qualifications in tabular form. [1904/19]
View answerThe procurement of supplies and services is essential to support the Department in providing high quality service to the public in a cost effective and efficient manner. The Department is compliant with best practice in the procurement of supplies and services and all staff involved in procurement must adhere to comprehensive rules set out in the Department’s Procurement Policy and Procedures.
The Project Office in my Department is responsible for development and implementation of a project management framework and procurement policy. It promotes best practice in project governance, project management and the procurement of goods and services. It supports Project Managers and staff involved in procurement through the provision of advice, guidelines and templates which draw on best practice nationally and internationally. It works closely with the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) to ensure that its policies, procedures and template are in accordance with up to date legislation and EU Directives.
The Project Office also maintains a contract database of all contracts awarded over €25k and in accordance with the provisions under the FOI publication scheme, publishes details of public contracts awarded (over €25k) on http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Procurement-Contracts-Awarded.aspx.
A voluntary register of staff qualifications is maintained by the Staff Development Unit in my Department. The total number of qualifications recorded on the register is currently 2439 covering a variety of disciplines. The following table sets out the number of staff recorded as having attained a professional qualification from the organisations requested by the Deputy.
|
Professional Qualifications |
Nos. |
|
Irish Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management |
0 |
|
Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply |
0 |
|
Institute of Public Administration |
258 |
|
Chartered Accountants Ireland |
1 |
|
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants |
3 |
|
Institute of Certified Public Accountants |
4 |
|
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants |
13 |
