David Cullinane
Ceist:145. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the public procurement rules that are in place here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10894/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 2 March 2017
Ceisteanna (145)
Freagraí scríofa
Public Procurement is governed by EU and National rules and guidelines. The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money.
The main EU Directives governing public procurement are Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement in relation to goods, services and works and Directive 2014/25/EU which deals with procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors. These Directives were transposed into Irish law by way of Statutory Instrument Nos. 284 and 286 of 2016 respectively.
The EU Directives on public procurement require that public works, supplies and service contracts above certain thresholds must be advertised on the Official Journal of the EU and awarded on the basis of objective and non-restrictive criteria. For works contracts the threshold is €5,225,000; for supplies and service contracts awarded by Government Departments the threshold is €135,000 and for the remainder of public bodies the threshold is €209,000. The threshold for supplies and service contracts of entities operating in utility sectors (water, energy, transport and postal) is €418,000. For contracts below these thresholds, the general requirement is that they be advertised on the national public procurement website www.etenders.gov.ie or, depending on value, awarded on the basis of a competitive process of direct invitation to an adequate number of suitable suppliers. In line with this, the following national rules apply to below EU threshold procurements:
- supplies or services costing less than €5,000 in value may be purchased on the basis of verbal quotes from one or more competing suppliers.
- contracts for supplies or services between €5,000 and €25,000 in value should be awarded on the basis of responses to specifications sent by fax or email to at least three suppliers or service providers.
- goods and general services with an expected value of €25,000 or more should be advertised on the eTenders website
It is the responsibility of each contracting authority to ensure that they comply with EU and national rules in relation to public procurement. Template Request for Tender (RFT) and contract documents have been developed in conjunction with the Chief State Solicitor's Office and the Office of the Attorney General to assist contracting authorities involved in carrying out routine, non-bespoke and low to medium risk procurements. These are available on the national public procurement website www.etenders.gov.ie.