Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Deputy for his question. As he knows, public procurement is governed by EU and national law. The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money. While it is preferable for a contracting authority to test the market by carrying out a procurement process, modifications of contracts during the term can be necessary because of changes in circumstances. There are many practical reasons non-material modifications are allowed without a tender process.

I will deal with the specific question the Deputy has asked me. I think he has agreed that the establishment of the Office of Government Procurement was a very good move. It has been one of the game changers in how the State transacts its business. Rather than having myriad different agencies and non-professional procurers buying the same goods and services at different costs, we now have a rational professional way of dealing with this. It is good for small and medium-sized companies, as the Deputy has said.

Obviously, we cannot discriminate one way or the other. However, 66% of the procurement we have done to date is with small and medium-sized companies. We are running a variety of meet-the-buyer programmes to strengthen the hand of small and medium-sized enterprises to better bid for public contracts, either as stand-alone entities or groups of SMEs working for the larger contracts.

However, it is a process. Last week I brought proposals to Government, which were confirmed today in the minutes, to establish the Office of Government Procurement on a statutory basis. When that Bill comes before the House, the Deputy, who I know will be here in the next Dáil, and I, if I am lucky enough to be here in the next Dáil, can have further debate.

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