Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am absolutely happy to look at it and to sit down with the Deputy to discuss it.

Data collection is a key issue of concern for me. I have tasked the Office of Government Procurement to look at how we can better collect those data. Looking right across the spectrum, from SMEs to social enterprises, it is important to consider how much is being tendered versus how much is actually used at the end of a project.

The Deputy referred to ethical sourcing. The Office of Government Procurement has, as she will be aware, a sourcing division that employs 127 staff. All of those staff have successfully undergone ethical procurement training, which the Deputy might be interested to hear. The Chartered Institute of Procurement Supply, CIPS, has awarded the Office of Government Procurement certification in ethical procurement. As part of that, it has received the Ethical Kitemark accreditation and is also included on the CIPS corporate ethical register, which is a really positive development.

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