Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 18 October 2018
Public Accounts Committee
2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Vote 11 - Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Collection of Pension Contributions due to the Exchequer
Chapter 3 - Control of Funding for Voted Public Services
Chapter 5 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Vote 11 - Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report 95: Financial Reporting in the Public Sector
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report 99: Public Sector Financial Reporting for 2015
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report 100: Public Sector Financial Reporting for 2016
9:00 am
Mr. Robert Watt:
There can be occasions where there are valid reasons for non-compliance with procurement rules. Departments have to comply with the Circular 40/02 requirement, where if the process is not gone through, it must be explained. Since 2012, we have established the Office of Government Procurement, OGP, whose job it is to professionalise this function and ensure greater compliance. In areas for which the OGP has responsibility, and it works with Departments and offices, there is 100% compliance with the rules.
If services are routinely procured without a competitive process, that is unacceptable. If a service is provided by company X to a public body for ten years and it has not gone through a competitive process, that is not acceptable. There needs to be a competitive process. We have been arguing consistently about the need for people to co-operate with the OGP and to work with it.
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