Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach to discuss ‘Preventing Bid Rigging in the Public Procurement Process’

The meeting at 1.30pm in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will hear from representatives of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and the Office of Government Procurement (OGP).

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy John McGuinness said: “Bid rigging is a serious form of anti-competitive behaviour which happens when some suppliers work together and agree not to bid against one another for a tender or contract. This can lead to a winning tender price being higher than may be the case through an open tender process.

“Following the discovery of such practices recently in Spain, the Committee is engaging with the CCPC and the OGP to discuss how bid rigging in the public procurement process can be prevented in Ireland. This will include the level of engagement between the two bodies regarding public procurement bid rigging, the measures that are in place or have taken place to ensure that such practices are not happening here, and whether current processes are sufficient to prevent such situations.

“The Committee looks forward to discussing these and related matters with the representatives of the CCPC and the OGP, as well as whether both bodies are sufficiently resourced to combat these issues.”

The Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.