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Public Procurement Contracts

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 May 2021

Thursday, 13 May 2021

Questions (178)

Mairéad Farrell

Question:

178. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the details of the information his Department collates as per circular 20/2019 (details supplied); the date this report was issued; the location on his Departmental website on which it can be found; and the progress in relation to green procurement that has been made to date. [25429/21]

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Written answers

As the Deputy is aware from 2020 onwards there is an obligation on all Government Departments to monitor and report annually on Green Public Procurement (GPP) in their annual reports, in accordance with D/PER Circular 20/2019 “Promoting the use of Environmental and Social Considerations in Public Procurement”.

This requirement is being met by my Department with the incorporation of a specific text within our 2020 Annual Report which recognises our obligation to monitor, evaluate and report on GPP. My Department’s Annual Report for 2020 is currently being finalised and is expected to be published on our website in the coming weeks.

The Report will set out, by way of an Appendix, information on the total number of contracts issued over €25,000 which incorporated Green Public Procurement considerations in 2020. The Appendix will cover eight priority sectors listed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2014 Green Procurement Guidance for the Public Sector and these sectors cover Transport, Construction, Energy, Food & Catering Services, Cleaning Products & Services, Textiles, IT Equipment and Paper. It will also incorporate an ‘Other’ category to cover green procurement activities not covered in the above priority sectors. It should be noted that not all of these sectors are of relevance to the procurement requirements of my Department, its Offices and Agencies.

In 2020 13 contracts with a value in excess of €25,000 were issued by my Department across the priority sectors and ‘Other’ category to the value of €1.14 million. Of these, 4 contracts incorporated specific GPP considerations to the value of €295,822. These are broken down by sector as follows:

- Cleaning Products & Services Sector

- Food & Catering Sector

- Furniture Removal Sector

- Research Study Sector

My Department continues to be mindful of the need to promote the use of environmental considerations in public procurement and to consider how social issues can be appropriately integrated into the procurement process. Where possible business units of my Department, and the Offices and Agencies under its remit, use the Office of Government Procurement’s (OGP) standard tendering and contract templates in their procurement processes. The standard template includes a requirement that the service provider comply with all applicable obligations in the field of environmental, social and labour law that apply at the place where the services are provided.

A specific statement on green public procurement is also being incorporated into the Department’s Corporate Procurement Plan for 2021.

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