Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Reform of public procurement is one of the main projects of key strategic importance in the Government's public service reform plan. Procurement of supplies and services accounts for approximately €9 billion of current spending by the State per annum. This represents a significant portion of overall spending and, therefore, it is essential that the public service achieve maximum value for money and operational efficiency in its approach to public procurement.

In this regard, an external review of the central procurement function was commissioned by my Department last year. The report of the review, which was published on the Department's website last year, found that significant savings could be achieved through the implementation of a transformational change to the central procurement model. In order to realise these benefits, the National Procurement Service has put in place a number of national arrangements designed to secure better value for money from leveraging the public service's buying power in respect of a range of goods and services that are commonly purchased across the public service. These national arrangements have benefits that include cash savings, administrative savings from reduced duplication of tendering, greater purchasing expertise, improved consistency and enhanced service levels.

Earlier this year, I announced the appointment of a chief procurement officer to lead a key element of the Government's public service reform agenda. The new approach to public procurement will involve integrating procurement policy, strategy and sourcing in one office, namely, the Office of Government Procurement; strengthening spend analytics and management; a much greater aggregation of purchasing across the public service to achieve better value for money; examining the specifications set out for goods and services; evaluating demand levels to assess how demand and volume can be reduced; and strengthening supplier and category management.

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