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Public Procurement Contracts

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 June 2021

Thursday, 24 June 2021

Questions (206, 207)

Brendan Smith

Question:

206. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to amend public procurement processes to ensure that small and medium enterprises are not disadvantaged in tendering for the provision of services to the State such as provisions for schools and other public services in view of the fact that in recent years small enterprises have lost valuable business at local level due to more purchasing being centralised and resulting in some instances in products being sourced from outside this jurisdiction and a loss in revenue to the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34162/21]

View answer

Brendan Smith

Question:

207. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the level of engagement the Office of Government Procurement has with small and medium enterprises to ensure that more products are sourced locally and that such businesses will not continue to be disadvantaged through centralised purchasing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34163/21]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 207 together.

Public Procurement is governed by EU legislation and National rules and guidelines. The aim of these rules is to ensure compliance with the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and equal treatment which are key to demonstrating the State’s attainment of maximum value for money through competitive procedures. To create a level playing field for all businesses across the Single European Market, EU law sets out minimum harmonised procurement rules for all Member States.

The Government recognises the importance of the SME sector and continues to enhance the already substantial measures to support SMEs in accessing the public procurement market. Significant work has been undertaken by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP), an office within my Department, to ensure that the opportunity to compete in public procurement is accessible by all businesses, including SMEs. Specifically, the OGP has developed a suite of policy measures aimed at assisting SMEs to access public procurement opportunities (implemented through Circular 10/14). These include:

- Proportionate financial capacity criterion (turnover requirements limited to twice the contract value);

- Contracting authorities are encouraged to divide public contracts into lots;

- Provision for “consortia bidding” to assist SMEs to participate in procurement procedures where they would not have the relevant capability or scale;

- Proportionate insurance levels; and

- Public bodies are required to advertise contracts for goods and services valued above €25,000 on the national eTenders portal.

This ensures that as many businesses and SMEs are aware of tendering opportunities as possible. Indeed, the latest analysis carried out by the OGP indicates that 92% of the €4.8 billion procurement addressable expenditure analysed is with firms with an Irish base and that the majority of spend (53%) is with the SME sector.

The OGP also collaborates with Inter Trade Ireland in the delivery of a series of ‘Go-2-Tender’ events. This programme has been developed to give SMEs the confidence, knowledge and practical skills to tender successfully for public sector contracts on a cross-border basis. The programme is geared towards SME’s which want to improve their basis tendering skills to increase their success rates in public sector tenders.

The Programme for Government sets out a number of commitments in relation to public procurement including a commitment to continue to support and train Irish indigenous SMEs so that they can compete for public procurement contracts in Ireland and abroad. The OGP will support the work of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in this regard.

My colleague, Minister of State, Ossian Smyth TD, who has responsibility for public procurement, chairs quarterly meetings of the SME Advisory Group with industry representative bodies ISME, IBEC, SFA, Chambers Ireland, and CIF. The Tender Advisory Service, which was re-launched in 2018, was set-up to assist SMEs with public procurement issues. This initiative was developed following consultation with the SME Advisory Group.

My Department will continue to proactively engage with business to enhance the significant measures and strategies already in place to support SME access to public procurement opportunities building on the progress to date.

Question No. 207 answered with Question No. 206.
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