Department of Social Protection Policy on Procurement

The Department of Social Protection (DSP) is committed to achieving value for money in the procurement of supplies and services essential to support its work in providing high quality service to the public in a cost effective and efficient manner.

Procurement by the department takes place in the context of Directive 2014/24/EU and supported by Procurement Guidelines published by the Department of Finance.

The guiding principles are transparency and openness of competition.

The department participates fully in ongoing initiatives of the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) based in the Office of Public Works (OPW), focusing especially at achieving procurement savings, including the use of shared framework agreements for the provision of an increasing number of categories of supplies and services.

The department is committed to facilitating access to procurement opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly those providing innovative solutions.

All significant tenders are advertised on e-tenders as detailed below.

Procurement of goods and services by the department is on the basis of competitive tendering. Award of tenders without a competitive process is only permitted in exceptional circumstance and then only in conformity with criteria set down in Directive 2014/24/EU.

The following are the tendering methods used having regard to the estimated value of the contract:

• procurements above €50,000 are advertised on e-tenders
• procurements above the EU defined threshold are also advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union and awarded in accordance with the requirements of Directive 2014/24/EU, as transposed into Irish law by the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016
• for procurements under €50,000 quotations are sought from at least three providers
• procurements are also carried out centrally, on behalf of this department, through the Office of Government Procurement

The following is a broad indication of the main areas in which the department purchases goods and services.

Communications and ICT Equipment and Services

Increasingly the needs of Information Systems Division are met from Office of Government Procurement central framework agreements.

Such agreements are in place for the purchase of desktop computers, laptops, printers, and mobile phone services. Details of these arrangements.

The department has a requirement for other ICT services and equipment. Requirements are advertised on the e-tenders website as and when they arise.

Consultancy and IT External Service Provision

The department has occasional requirements for management consultancy services which may be needed to provide advice or specialised technical expertise which is not otherwise available to the department.

This includes support relating to:

• strategic multi-annual programmes aimed at enhancing the delivery of the department's services, for example, the Service Delivery Modernisation (SDM) Programme Item was unpublished or removed
• technical projects pertaining to the on-going development of information technology systems
• other projects to support, for example, policy development and the provision of information

A detailed breakdown of the annual expenditure on Consultancy and IT External Service Provision is available below.

Facilities Management Supplies and Services

Stationery and office consumables are generally procured on the basis of centralised draw-down contracts awarded by the Office of Government Procurement, including cleaning services, security services and waste management.

Services may also be procured directly by the department from time to time, through competitions advertised on eTenders and OJEU.

It is department policy to use the government procurement website when advertising tenders.

Suppliers/service providers who are interested in monitoring potential business opportunities should register on the e-tenders database so that they may be alerted whenever a tender of interest to their area of activity is published.

Registration on the e-tenders suppliers database is free of charge.

Vendors interested in tendering for provision of goods or services which would not normally be advertised on e-tenders (below €50,000) should send their details to the addresses below:

Payment of invoices by the department is governed by the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act, 1997 as amended by the European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2002.

The legislation provides for the payment of interest on valid invoices which are unpaid after 30 days from the date of receipt.

The department complies with a further non-statutory requirement introduced by the government in June 2009 to reduce the payment period by central government departments to their suppliers from 30 to 15 days.

The department publishes details of contracts awarded over €25k quarterly in arrears.

The department publishes Purchase Orders for €20,000 or over quarterly in arrears.