Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 373: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, in the interest of reducing paper use, his Department has plans to relax or drop the requirement to supply three or more hard copies of tender documentation and to move towards greater use of electronic documentation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39739/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The public procurement rules do not specify the number of copies of tender documents to be submitted but they do permit contracting authorities to accept tenders by electronic means. My Department has previously accepted tenders electronically for a number of tendering exercises. Being conscious of the burden on suppliers and need to reduce overheads, my Department will be actively encouraging the level of usage to increase significantly over the coming year.

The national public procurement website, www.etenders.gov.ie, has a facility for the submission of tenders electronically. The facility has been available to all public sector organisations since early 2005 and its use is widely promoted. Between 4,000 and 5,000 tenders are advertised each year and acceptance of electronic tenders offers the potential for significant savings in paper usage. In addition, the website also permits contracting authorities to make all of its tender documentation available in electronic format to prospective suppliers.