Minister of State O’Donovan receives first annual report of the Procurement Reform Board

Minister of State O’Donovan receives 2018 Report from the Interim Procurement Board.

The report sets out key achievements in driving reform of procurement expenditure of €15 billion a year.

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with Special Responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government, and eGovernment, Patrick O’Donovan TD, today (2 December 2019) received the first annual report of the Procurement Reform Board. The report sets out the activities of the Board in 2018 as well as identifying key tasks for 2019 in ensuring State spending delivers value for money while progressing Government policy and delivery to citizens. The report also includes the report to the Board of the Chief Procurement Officer, Mr Paul Quinn.

The role of the Board is to oversee the implementation of procurement reform across the whole of the public sector including central Government and the four key sectors of health, education, local government and defence, and to provide advice to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The Board includes representatives from across the public service and two independent Board members. The Board is supported in its work by the Office of Government Procurement.

Key achievements identified in the report include:

• Promoting the importance of good corporate governance and procurement structures to public bodies
• Supporting the development of consistent and workable procurement policy to facilitate better public procurement
• Developing new reporting metrics that will allow the Board to track and measure the progress of reform
• Progressing Programme for Government commitments including relaunching the Tender Advisory Service and supporting SME participation in procurement opportunities

Minister O’Donovan said:

“I am pleased to receive this first annual report from the new Procurement Reform Board. The report sets out the vital importance of good procurement practices in ensuring value for money in the delivery of services to citizens. The promotion of better public procurement practices can help us achieve Government policy objectives, for example in the area of climate action, while delivering fair and transparent competitions that are open to all businesses including SMEs. I look forward to continuing my work with the Board in driving further reform in the coming year.”

ENDS

The Procurement Reform Board (the Interim Public Sector Procurement Reform Board) was established by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD in 2018. It is chaired by Maurice Quinn, Secretary General of the Department of Defence and includes representatives from across the public sector, including the Chief Procurement Officer as well as two external members appointed by the Minister. The Board is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the public procurement reform programme and advising the Government on national public procurement strategy.

The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) was established by the Government to integrate procurement policy, strategy and operations into a centralised office with the aim of reducing procurement risk and enabling savings for public service bodies (PSBs) across the State. The OGP is headed by the Government’s Chief Procurement Officer, and operates as an office of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.