Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 September 2021
230. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the requirement to hire construction apprentices been included in any of the State’s large construction procurement contracts; if this is under consideration for future public procurement contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44498/21]
View answerThe appropriateness of including social considerations in public contracts needs to be examined by contracting authorities on a contract-by-contract basis to decide what, how, and when social considerations can be used to meet their own social and environmental objectives. It is a matter for individual contracting authorities to ensure that their public procurement activities are discharged in line with procurement rules and procedures. The OGP supports contracting authorities in this regard by making them aware of their legal and policy obligations in respect to public procurement.
The information sought by the Deputy in relation to any requirement to hire construction apprentices in public works projects is not collated centrally. However, the Deputy may wish to note that a pilot social clause was included in the three design and build, devolved schools bundles administered by the NDFA on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills. In summary, the pilot clause required:
- At least 10% of those working on the sites to be drawn from the live register, having been unemployed for more than 12 months; and
- At least 2.5% of workers on the sites to be engaged in an approved registered apprenticeship, training or educational work placement scheme.
Similar clauses were included in all PPP projects procured by the NDFA since the announcement of the Infrastructure Stimulus Programme in 2012: Schools PPP Bundle 4, Schools PPP Bundle 5, TU Dublin at Grangegorman PPP, Primary Care Centres PPP, Courts Bundle PPP, Social Housing Bundle 1 and Social Housing Bundle 2. All of these projects are complete and in operations with the exception of Social Housing Bundle 2 which is still in construction.
Similar clauses are included in current PPPs in the Higher Education PPP Programme (being procured by the NDFA on behalf of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research and Innovation) and in the second Devolved (design and build) Schools Programme (being procured by the NDFA on behalf of the Department of Education). Provisions for future contracts will be determined in consultation with the relevant Sanctioning Authority and my Department.
The inclusion of strategic, green and social policy considerations in procurement processes is a key feature of the Programme for Government.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, developed Circular 20/2019: Promoting the use of Environmental and Social Considerations in Public Procurement. The Circular highlights the potential for Departments to support wider social and environmental aims through public procurement.
Further actions taken by the OGP in this area include: the publication of an Information Note on Incorporating Social Considerations into Public Procurement in December 2018; and the establishment of a cross-departmental Social Considerations Advisory Group to bring together officials from policy Departments with procurement practitioners to share best practice and to facilitate the process of incorporating social and environmental considerations into public procurement.
The Circular additionally draws the attention of Departments to the cross-departmental Social Considerations Advisory Group, which aims to promote and facilitate the incorporation of social considerations, including environmental considerations, into public procurement projects. This group was established by the OGP, and brings together officials from policy departments with public procurement practitioners to share best practice in relevant fields. In line with Programme for Government commitments the objectives of the group were updated, new Terms of Reference were developed in September 2020, and the group has been renamed as the Strategic Procurement Advisory Group (SPAG).
In accordance with the ‘Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025’, members of the Strategic Procurement Advisory Group will consider the potential for measures supporting apprenticeship in procurement by different Departments and Agencies. Members of the Group and officials from the OGP will work alongside the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to deliver guidance on the inclusion of an apprenticeship/staff development provision within Public Sector tendering processes.
