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Ministers welcome public consultation on Ireland’s first National Public Procurement Strategy

Ministers Chambers and Higgins welcome public consultation on Ireland’s first National Public Procurement Strategy

The Programme for Government: Securing Irelands Future, includes a commitment to reviewing the public procurement process to make it more transparent and to ensure greater participation from SMEs in Ireland. To support this, Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement, Digitalisation and eGovernment, Emer Higgins, has today (25 March) launched the public consultation phase of Ireland’s first National Public Procurement Strategy.

The consultation will run for eight weeks and is open to all those with an interest in the future direction of public procurement in Ireland including public bodies, NGOs, community groups, political representatives, academics and members of the public. Feedback gathered during the consultation will inform the development of Ireland’s first National Public Procurement Strategy and is being led by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP), which operates as part of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

The launch was welcomed by Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, Jack Chambers, who said:

“I welcome the launch of the public consultation for Ireland’s first National Public Procurement Strategy. My Department works to drive the delivery of better public services for the people of Ireland and effective public procurement is central to this. The focus of the strategy will be on increasing SME participation in public contracts and leveraging public procurement to support sustainability and innovation concerns, it will also support increasing openness and transparency in public procurement processes”

Government is particularly keen to have inputs from members of the business community including social enterprises and SMEs. Attending the public consultation launch were a number of industry representative bodies including IBEC, ISME and the Small Firms Association, as well as representatives from Government departments and agencies including Enterprise Ireland and InterTrade Ireland.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Higgins said:

“I am delighted to launch the public consultation for Ireland’s first National Public Procurement Strategy. Billions of euro each year is spent by public bodies on goods, services and public works. This consultation is key to ensuring that Government money is spent in the best possible way for people and businesses in Ireland. A public body can use their procurement to stimulate employment, including among disadvantaged groups that are underemployed, it can promote innovation, support the growth of SMEs and social enterprises, and progress government objectives in the areas of climate change and social inclusion.

“We now have an opportunity to shape the future of public procurement in this country and I would encourage any interested individual or organisation to make a submission and ensure their views are considered in the development of the Strategy.”

Public procurement accounts for a large share of the State’s spending and can support the State to deliver better public services. Strategic procurement enables public money to be spent in an efficient, transparent and sustainable way. In many sectors such as energy, transport, waste management, social protection and the provision of health or education services, public authorities are the principal buyers.

Three foundational policy positions have been adopted in the development of the strategy.

The strategy must:

1. be in the public’s best interest;

2. enable public buyers to better access the markets on which they rely; and

3. make participation in public procurement easier for suppliers.

Those interested in participating in the public consultation can find further information here .

 

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