Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

For many years the OPW has centralised buying contracts and the Department of Finance public procurement guidelines cover that. Most of the departmental costs are under contracts under the procurement policies of the Department of Finance, with the OPW being the centralised buyer in a large range of areas.

Expenditure in operating my Department is incurred across a range of goods and services, including travel services, staff training and development, telecommunications and office equipment, premises expenses, information technology, and library and consultancy costs. The average annual cost is approximately €3 million.

In accordance with the guidelines of the Department of Finance published approximately three years ago, every Department must have a procurement plan, which is a detailed analysis of procurement activities and expenditure. This was undertaken because it provides information on a great amount of expenditure in the various categories of procurement, which will inform departmental practices in future. Every Department does this, but it feeds into the better guidelines of the procurement section in the Department of Finance.

My Department complies with the guidance on the procurement of supplies and services as set out in the guidelines. The guidelines not only cover Irish issues regarding competitive tendering, but also EU and national rules. It is not the case that each Department buys on its own. As all of the duplicated expenditure is being centralised, we get big economies of scale.

The increased complexity and importance of purchasing decisions by public bodies is leading to a far more strategic focus and improved management of the public procurement process. The effective and efficient procurement policy, the procedures and the practices can have a significant impact on the accountability and value for money aspects of the purchase of goods and services by the State. The potential for real savings from more effective procurement policies and practices is significant. The OPW can show a considerable amount of data, which we get all of the time. Achieving savings is important because it frees up resources that can be redirected to other services.

The procurement section in the Department of Finance has examined better outcomes internationally and is always looking for improved compliance with existing rules and better moves. My only worry in this regard is that we in this country are sometimes very pure in terms of how we follow these rules as opposed to other countries. We go all over the world to get the best value for money, sometimes at the expense of our own companies. My colleagues on the Council and those in Fine Gael's European grouping find imaginative ways around EU procurement rules to keep business at home.

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