Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 March 2021
519. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to instances of litigation or the threat of litigation arising from the inclusion of social clauses in public procurement contracts in each of the years 2017 to 2020. [16593/21]
View answerThe Department of Foreign Affairs operates in a number of locations in Ireland and approximately 90 locations worldwide and comprises of two Votes; Vote 27 International Cooperation and Vote 28 Foreign Affairs.
The Department ensures that there is an appropriate focus on good practice in procurement and that procedures are in place to ensure compliance with all relevant procurement guidelines. Procurement takes place in compliance with Directive 2014/24/EU and supported by procurement guidelines published by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP). Procurement rules require the Department to award contracts under procedures designed to achieve value for public money in an open, transparent, non-discriminatory and competitive manner.
The Department, as a contracting authority, recognises that public procurement can be used to promote wider social considerations. The general position from a procurement perspective is that social criteria can be included in the procurement process provided that they are linked to the subject matter of the contract and are contract specific. The use of social clauses are most effectively utilised in large-scale works contracts as opposed to contracts for goods and services. The majority of the Department's procurement contracts are with small firms or individuals providing professional, consultancy and general services. However, procurement contracts in the Department for general services and ICT managed services requires contractors, as employers, to be fully compliant with labour rules, collective agreements and the EU Employment Directives. Tenderers are excluded from competition if they fail to meet the required social criteria.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is not aware of any instances of litigation or the threat of litigation arising from the inclusion of social clauses in the Department’s public procurement contracts in 2017, 2018, 2019 or 2020.
