Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy made a fair point that given the focus on SMEs being able to win more tenders and on ensuring they are part of our public procurement process, the threshold should be examined. It is interesting, however, that following an extensive discussion on the issue in the SME advisory group, the decision was made, due to the feedback of the majority of members, that the threshold should not be changed. Nevertheless, we need to keep the decision under review. The Office of Government Procurement, OGP, continues to monitor the issue and engage with the SME sector.

I met those involved in procurement yesterday. One interesting aspect of the discussion, a matter with which the Deputy will be familiar, is the degree to which green issues and climate change matter, and the degree to which procurement policy is now an important lever of Government policy for responding to that. As the team involved in the area get together their work plan and priorities for next year, such green and climate-related measures will be prominent in their work.

See this speech in context