Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. Nobody denies that community benefit requirements and social clauses in public contracts can only work in the best interests of the local community. They are a way of supporting the development of local economies and can lead to the promotion of social goals. For example, they can help to protect the environment or support the disadvantaged. Most importantly, community benefit requirements and social clauses can help to protect the most vulnerable in society. All of these benefits could reasonably be achieved through clauses embedded in the terms of contractual awards and enshrined in legislation. Community benefit requirements require public moneys to be spent in the best possible way and with the best possible results, not just for the contractor but also for the wider community which can share in the rewards. The Sinn Féin Party has experience in this area. As Minister for Regional Development in the North, Mr. Conor Murphy ensured social clauses were written into public contracts to young people, for example, the opportunity to pursue apprenticeships. In major capital road building contracts the Minister ensured social clauses were written in to allow for the provision of jobs for the long-term unemployed.

In Dublin City Council last year the Sinn Féin group succeeded in having a motion passed to allow for the inclusion of social procurement clauses in council contracts. In 2013 Sinn Féin introduced the Social Clauses in Public Procurement Bill 2013. On Second Stage in the Dail Deputy Mary Lou McDonald stated it was Sinn Féin's view that, to best serve the public good, any value for money strategy for the spending of public money should not focus exclusively on the bottom line. She went on to say current procurement policy had all but ignored the potential benefits for small and medium-sized indigenous businesses, social economy enterprises and wider society from Government spending.

Without question, such legislation will give SMEs a fair bite of the apple and an opportunity that has not always been open to them. It could allow for the unbundling of large contracts which ordinarily would be the preserve of large corporate organisations. They could now be allocated to a multitude of SMEs to the benefit of the local economy and community. We would welcome legislation to impose community benefit requirements as part of contractual requirements in contracts awarded by public bodies. This is something on which we have delivered in the North and we tried to do the same here when we introduced our legislation in 2013. We have similar legislation parked on Committee Stage. We urge the Government to act on this issue and will, therefore, support the legislation.