Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

My Department complies with the guidance on the procurement of supplies and services set out in the public procurement guidelines. The Department of Finance has issued several guidelines in recent years. The last set of guidelines was issued in 2004.

In recent times, the Department of Finance has argued that the purchasing power of all Departments must be accumulated. A Department can do its best on its own but a centralised procurement procedure, acting for the entire public sector, would see larger discounts. It is not an easy exercise but it is an important one.

The Department of the Taoiseach, like other Departments, is required to have a formal procurement planning process which is very different from the old system. The Department of Finance carried out a detailed review of the procurement processes across the Civil Service and public service, as part of the modernisation of procedures.

Computer technology allows Departments to engage more with the requirement. Responsibility for the preparation of the plan has been assigned to my Department. It must analyse its purchases, how that can be done through a centralised system and consider procurement practices and trends. The Department is doing this with the assistance of the Department of Finance which has developed a practical training course for participants.

Getting Departments to procure in a more centralised manner is a new concept. A centralised procurement process will lead to greater discounts — ten Departments procuring together will get larger discounts. While some of this was in the old procurement guidelines and EU directives, the Department of Finance is seeking a more detailed procurement plan. There is no doubt we will get better economy of scale and efficiencies through it. However, it will take some time to get it up and running. They have begun the process, however, in making all Departments engage with it. Every Department must have a plan, although some did this last year. My Department will have it finished and up and running this year. The economies of scale in my Department may not be as big as in others but we must play our part in delivering on that matter. As far as office expenditure, including equipment and information technology sections, is concerned, there must be advantages in doing so.

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