Ó An Roinn Caiteachais Phoiblí, Seachadta ar an bPlean Forbartha Náisiúnta, agus Athchóirithe
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New procurement guidelines to simplify rules and support SME access
Minister of State with special responsibility for public procurement at the Department of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Patrick O’Donovan TD, today (05 July 2017) welcomed the publication of new guidelines and template tender documents by the Office of Government Procurement.
The guidelines replace previous guidelines published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and take account of 2014 EU Directives (see below), as implemented in Ireland.
The guidelines will support contracting authorities, including the Office of Government Procurement, the four key sectors (Health, Education, Local Government and Defence), individual departments, offices, commercial and non-commercial state bodies, and private entities which are subsidised 50% or more by a public body, when awarding contracts for goods and services.
Minister O’Donovan said that:
"Procurement is a key element of the government’s Public Service Reform Programme. It is important that public procurement is conducted in a manner that makes it easier for businesses to engage with public procurement.
"These new guidelines are aimed at demystifying some of the more complex rules and procedures around public procurement and making them more accessible to both contracting authorities and suppliers.
"These guidelines and templates form part of the National Procurement Policy Framework. They will promote and reinforce improved best practice, standardisation and consistency of approach among public procurement practitioners.
"As such they represent another important contribution to achieving the government’s goal of increasing the modernisation and professionalisation of public procurement.
“The publication of these guidelines and templates is in line with new EU procurement rules, which have been transposed into Irish law.
“These rules envisage procurement as an important policy instrument to promote and support the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth by increasing the efficiency of public spending, reducing red tape, facilitating the participation of SMEs, improving the conditions for business to innovate and keeping procurement markets open EU-wide.”
Paschal Donohoe TD, Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, also welcomed the publication of the guidelines and templates saying:
"The state spends in the order of €9 billion on goods and services annually. Therefore, it is essential that we spend this money in a way that achieves maximum value for money and a sustainable delivery of public services for the taxpayer.
"It is above all important that public procurement is seen to be conducted in a manner which is fair and transparent and ensures equality of treatment for all suppliers."
ENDS
Procurement is a key element of the government’s Public Service Reform. The state spends approximately €9 billion every year on goods and services. In this context, it is essential that the public service operates in a co-ordinated and efficient way.
The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) commenced operations in 2014 and, together with four key sectors (Health, Defence, Education and Local Government), has responsibility for sourcing goods and services on behalf of the public service. In addition, the OGP also has responsibility for procurement policy and procedures for the entire public sector.
The Revised Guidance and templates form part of the National Procurement Policy Framework, which consists of 5 strands:
The current EU Directives on public procurement are:
The EU Procurement Directives were transposed into Irish Law in 2016 by way of Regulations contained in Statutory Instruments No 284 of 2016 (the '2016 Regulations') and No 286 of 2016 (the '2016 Utilities Regulations') and No 203 of 2017 (the Concessions Regulations) respectively.