Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2012
277 Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the transforming public services office in his Department has considered the report on the whole system of work submitted by Donegal County Council in 2010; their views on same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27689/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Transforming Public Services (TPS) Programme Office was established in the Department of the Taoiseach in late 2008 to oversee the implementation of the then Government's Transforming Public Services programme.
I am advised that a copy of the Whole System of Work Framework was forwarded to the TPS Programme Office in the Department of the Taoiseach during 2010. I understand that no formal assessment of the system was undertaken by that office.
Following the realignment of Departmental roles upon the formation of the current Government, the staff and functions of the TPS Programme Office transferred to the new Reform and Delivery Office in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which is leading and coordinating the implementation of the Government's Public Service Reform Plan.
278 Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will clarify a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27794/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Procurement Service, based in The Office of Public Works, is responsible for eProcurement and for the operation of the eTenders public procurement portal (www.etenders.gov.ie). Each year an average of 5,000 tenders for the procurement of goods, services and works are advertised on eTenders. The overall procurement spend by the public sector in the Republic of Ireland amounts to an estimated value of between €14 and €15 billion per year. The figure of €21 billion quoted by the Deputy refers to the estimated combined all-island value of the public procurement market in the Republic and Northern Ireland. The figures for public contracts awarded to Irish companies in 2010, the latest year for which such figures are available, are included in the table below. The Deputy should be aware that these statistics relate only to contracts placed that were above the EU Thresholds*, where a contract award notice was published and where the nationality of the winning tenderer was also disclosed. It should also be noted that the statistics do not distinguish between companies in the UK and those based in Northern Ireland, so of the contracts going “abroad” many of the contracts may have stayed on the island of Ireland.
* The EU Thresholds, above which tenders must be advertised on the eTenders website and the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), in 2010 were:
€125,000 for supplies and services;
€4,845,000 for works and utilities
|
2010 |
Number of contracts |
Value €000 |
|
Irish suppliers |
690 |
3,001,218 |
|
Non-Domestic suppliers |
102 |
285,183 |
|
Total |
792 |
3,286,759 |
279 Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the value of public sector contracts awarded between May, 2011 and May, 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27795/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra280 Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to whom the public sector contracts for the period May, 2011 to May, 2012 were awarded; if they were Irish based contractors or from other parts of Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27796/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 279 and 280 together.
The statistics requested by the Deputy are not available, as they are not collated centrally and can only be provided by individual contracting authorities. However, contracting authorities are required to publish contract award notices for contracts that are above the European Union thresholds on the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). The current thresholds above which tenders must be advertised in the OJEU are as follows:
|
Value € |
||
|
Works: |
||
|
Contract Notice |
5,000,000 |
Government Departments and Offices, Local and Regional Authorities and other public bodies. |
|
Supplies and Services: |
||
|
Contract Notice |
130,000 |
Government Departments and Offices |
|
Contract Notice |
200,000 |
Local and Regional Authorities and public bodies outside the Utilities sector. |
The National Procurement Service (NPS) is responsible for producing annual statistical information in relation to above EU threshold procurement activity by the Irish public sector and providing these statistics to the European Commission. In this regard, I am informed by the NPS that data in respect of 2011 will not be available until later this year. The latest information for above EU threshold contracts is for 2010 and is as follows:
|
Above threshold contracts awarded in 2010 |
No. of Contracts |
Value €000 |
% of Value |
|
Irish Suppliers |
690 |
3,001,218 |
92.3 |
|
Non-Domestic Suppliers |
102 |
285,183 |
8.7 |
|
Total |
792 |
3,286,759 |
100 |
Of the €3.3 billion spent by the State on above threshold contracts only 8.7% went to non-domestic companies. In terms of overall procurement budget (approximately €14 billion in 2010), the NPS estimates that less than 5% of the overall spend went to non-domestic suppliers.
The public procurement market in the EU is estimated to be valued at €2 trillion. In this regard, it is worth noting that the open market regime affords opportunities for Irish companies to win business abroad as part of the EU Single Market. In a recent survey conducted by the National Procurement Service 20% of respondents said that they had won public procurement contracts in the United Kingdom and 15% said that they had won public procurement contracts in other member states.
