Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

There is a down side in that one can get the best value for money, but one can affect jobs at home. That is my only argument, but I lose it usually because we tend to play by the rules in this country.

The main aim of the national policy on procurement is to achieve value for money while having regard to probity and accountability. While price is important in determining value for money, the outcome of procurement, particularly for certain categories of purchases, is not the only variable to be considered. Value for money also encompasses non-cost factors. When purchasing goods or services, consideration should be given to whether they are fit for the purpose intended and of sufficient quality and whether the level of service support provided meets the requirements. These issues are covered well.

The national public procurement policy unit was set up in the Department of Finance five years ago. Its role is to develop public sector procurement policy and practice and it has done a good job in changing practices across the public sector. It is an active section in terms of trying to enforce value for money, but there is an issue when contracts become larger because they then fall under the EU directive. The contracts will be won internationally, but some significant countries do not play by the same purist rules as we do. This sometimes has a negative effect on companies, particularly those in the printing industry, where many large contracts are going outside the country, but if one follows the guidelines the way one should, there is not much that can be done about that.

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