Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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351. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will outline the steps his Department takes to ensure that consulting firms do not share confidential information in terms of policy development within his Department with other sections of their business in order to gain competitive advantage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27189/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The ‘National Public Procurement Policy Framework’ issued by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) in November 2019, sets out the procurement procedures to be followed by government departments and state bodies in accordance with EU rules and national guidelines.

In addition, my Department has its own internal policy and guidance documents to assist staff to comply with all procurement regulations. In accordance with OGP guidance and templates the Department makes use of confidentiality agreements and contract provisions to address conflict of interest matters. The Office of Government Procurement’s contracts and standardised template documents contain substantive provisions to address confidentiality and conflict of interest matters.

The Tenderer’s statement constitutes acceptance of the Request For Tender conditions, the Contract Terms and Conditions and the Confidentiality Agreement. As per these conditions, Contractors are required to carry out a conflict of interest check and ensure that any conflicts arising in the course of the contract are raised with the Client. In such circumstances, the Client has grounds to terminate the contract immediately.