Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 74: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on whether the Government can play a greater role in the promotion of small and medium enterprises through its public procurement policies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37861/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Government recognises the important role of small or medium sized enterprises in the local and national economy and promotes their development to the greatest extent possible. I very much favour maximum participation of SMEs in the public procurement market.

The public procurement market must operate on an open and non-discriminatory basis and it can be an important source of business for SMEs. In the past, access to public contracts was perceived as a problem by many in this sector. Significant measures have been introduced to combat this. A national public procurement website, www.etenders.gov.ie, was developed by my Department in recent years where all significant public sector contracts are advertised. This central facility increases transparency and greatly increases access to public sector contracts for all suppliers.

The SME sector is actively targeted through a marketing campaign and suppliers receive free e-mail alerts to tender notices of interest to them. Figures show a steady increase in the number of registered suppliers competing for business — currently at 27,000, with a growth of 77% in the past year due to active targeting. I wish to build on this and see SMEs competing vigorously for public contracts in the future.

An e-business strategy implementation group led by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is currently considering ways in which the opportunities that electronic procurement offers SMEs can be identified and any obstacles to participation addressed.