Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 March 2018
29. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to review all areas of public expenditure with regard to public procurement or grant aid which have employment implications to ensure that employment generated from such expenditure is quality employment and that such funding is not used to underpin precarious forms of employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13007/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraPublic procurement is the acquisition, whether under formal contract or not, of works, goods and services by public bodies. National rules governing public procurement must comply with the relevant EU, WTO and national legal requirements and obligations. Under EU law, public contracts above a certain value must be advertised EU-wide and awarded to the most competitive tender in an open and objective process. The aim of European and national rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money.
Directive 2014/24/EU dealing with the public procurement of goods, services and works was transposed into Irish law by way of S.I. No. 284/2016. This requires tenderers to comply with applicable obligations in the fields of environmental, social and labour law that apply at the place where the works are carried out or the services provided that have been established by European Union law, national law, collective agreements or by international labour law. The requirement features in key aspects of the new rules at relevant stages in the procurement process, i.e. when applying the discretionary exclusion grounds, when deciding whether to award a contract to the most economically advantageous tenderer, when assessing abnormally low tenders and, where appropriate, in relation to subcontracting. Contracting authorities must also take appropriate measures to ensure contract performance is in accordance with these obligations.
These requirements are reflected in the current Office of Government Procurement template documents for goods and services which have been developed in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office. These can be viewed on the OGP website at http://ogp.gov.ie/templates-2/. They are also reflected in public works contracts which require a contractor to certify compliance with employment law, to maintain records of all those employed on the site, regardless of whether they are employees of the contractor or their subcontractors, and the hours worked by them. Where requested, the contractor must also provide details of the payments made to those employed on the site. Where the contractor fails to comply with their obligations under the contract or employment law, deductions may be made from payments due under the contract until the situation is rectified.
It is the responsibility of each contracting authority to ensure that tenderers comply with all the requirements of the public procurement process. I would also point out that under Section 19 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993 an Accounting Officer is required to give evidence to the Public Accounts Committee regarding: the regularity and propriety of the transactions recorded or required to be recorded in any account subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General which he/she or the Department concerned is required by or under statute to prepare; the economy and efficiency of the Department in the use of its resources; and the systems, procedures and practices employed by the Department for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of its operations.
Finally, employment law and its enforcement, in both public and private contracts, is a matter for the relevant State authorities, including the Workplace Relations Commission, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
