Seanad debates

Monday, 10 May 2021

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

 

10:30 am

Photo of Pippa HackettPippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Last week, the wonderful Lough Boora Discovery Park, County Offaly, made the headlines albeit for rather unfortunate reasons. The outcome of a Bord na Móna tender for a bicycle hire business there saw the incumbent well-respected local business owner lose out with a consequent outpouring of community-wide disappointment and anger. In the wake of the decision, there were some ridiculous and totally unfounded accusations of misconduct in relation to the process. While they may have been wide of the mark, the results of the tender have raised valid questions about how public procurement is conducted.

Our public procurement procedure is guided by legislation. Different approaches are taken depending on the value of the contract but the ultimate aim is to ensure maximum value of taxpayers' money. However, even with full acceptance that the public procurement process was correctly followed in the Lough Boora example, I share the concerns raised about future public procurement, particularly in the midlands at a time when we, as a Government, are supporting a just transition in this region. The Government has already injected millions of euro into the midlands region but Covid notwithstanding, many of these funds have been slow to materialise and criticism of the pace of delivery is warranted because it is essential that these funds are spent quickly and wisely to restart this beating heart of Ireland. We need to support local jobs for local people and our public procurement process should reflect that insofar as possible. It needs to be swift, responsive and locally aware.

Short supply chains are something I continually talk about in farming and food.Equally, short supply chains should be considered for public procurement. Securing a local person for a local job should always be the aspiration. Supporting indigenous businesses in counties like Laois and Offaly will be key to securing a sustainable future there. Any cost-benefit analyses of investments must go further than just the economical. There is the social and environmental to consider also. This Government has committed to evaluating our procurement strategies and part of that relates to the delivery of community benefit and minimisation of the environmental impact. This is really is important and I am working closely with my Government colleagues to ensure that this will be the case in the future.

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