Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

An Action Plan for Jobs 2015 states with regard to public procurement and SMEs that its ambitions include increasing awareness and looking into further methods to improve it. The Minister of State has said €2.4 billion in public procurement was analysed and referred to expenditure of €8 billion. The truth of the matter is that the Office of Public Procurement simply does not know how much public procurement is through small Irish SMEs. The figure is not available, which is shocking. There is obviously a gulf between our ambition for public procurement and that of the Government. There is a gulf between the ambitions of the Small Firms Association and the Irish School Art Supply Federation which has very clearly highlighted the need to reduce the significant blockages in the State. For example, why will the Minister not commit in An Action Plan for Jobs to use the criterion of the most economically advantageous tender? That would take into account value for money, quality after-sales service, social values and whole-economy benefits. Why will the Government not consider this?

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