Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Some of my prepared reply is the same as I have already outlined, so I will take that as noted regarding the objectives of the EU directives.

The Office of Government Procurement is currently exploring policy choices as part of the transposition process. In this context, I have launched a public consultation on the new directives. It is open to everybody - not just specific people - to give their views on how they wish to see these directives transposed, and I urge everybody to do so. We are accepting written submissions up to 12 December. Consideration will be given to the responses received when drafting the statutory instruments to implement the EU rules in national law.

Many of the changes in the directives on SME access to, and participation in, the public procurement market were foreshadowed in Circular 10/14 on initiatives to assist SMEs in public procurement, which we have discussed previously.

This policy initiative aims to open up opportunities for small businesses to bid for State business by simplifying and streamlining the public procurement process and reducing the administrative burden on businesses wishing to tender for public contracts.

The circular contains guidelines setting out relevant and proportionate financial capacity, turnover and insurance levels for tendering firms and the subdividing of larger contracts into lots to enable SMEs to bid for these opportunities. In addition, the guidelines encourage SMEs to form consortia where they are not of sufficient scale or capability to tender in their own right. The aim is to encourage Irish SMEs, where necessary, to form alliances and networks to ensure they can tender competitively for business. The guidance also encourages suppliers to use fully the e-tender system and to avail of its facilities for registration, e-tendering and automatic alerts for future tendering opportunities. These are facilities which are aimed at easing the administrative burden of suppliers in tendering for public contracts.

We have established an SME working group with industry representative bodies, including ISME, IBEC, Small Firms Association, SFA, Chambers Ireland, Construction Industry Federation, CIF, and public sector representation from the office of Government procurement, OGP, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, InterTrade Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. The focus of this group is to develop and monitor SME access to public procurement. This group meets regularly - I am pleased to have met the group recently - and it has broadly welcomed the policy initiatives in the circular. I expect this group to input into the public consultation process. While the circular and its provisions have been broadly welcomed, I am acutely aware, as is the OGP, that the main criticism from many stakeholders is the lack of consistency in the implementation of the circular. If I were to identify one challenge for 2015 it would be to ensure that the SME circular is consistently implemented across the board.

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