Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 174: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will clarify the situation concerning complaints from the printing industry regarding the level of Government agency work, on behalf of the Office of Public Works, being awarded to companies outside the State; if same can be quantified in value terms; the efforts that have been made to retain the work in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter (details supplied). [28746/09]

Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)
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Up to recently, the Government Supplies Agency (GSA), a Business Unit of the Office of Public Works, has provided a centralised procurement service to Government Departments, Offices and Agencies for a range of goods and services, including printing. This service is provided principally by means of drawdown contracts, which sets out prices, terms and conditions under which supplies are delivered. The various Departments, Offices and Agencies can purchase, as required, from the appointed contractors. These contracts are generally of two to three years duration - this has proven to be a reasonable period, having regard to factors, such as the protracted timescale involved in organising tender competitions, the requirement for a reasonable degree of certainty and stability (including price stability) for customers, the needs for contracts to be of sufficient duration for suppliers to achieve an adequate return on investment, and the desire of unsuccessful tenderers to have new opportunities to compete for the business.

Contracts are awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender, determined on the basis of criteria detailed in the tender documents. There is no advantage to non-Irish companies in assessing tender prices - comparisons are made on the basis of prices excluding VAT.

The expenditure on GSA contracts for printing and binding services for the past three years is as follows:

Of the contracts for printing and binding services, the proportion delivered by Irish printers under these contracts was 97.9% in 2006, 88.6% in 2007 and 88.1% in 2008.

All public procurement is subject to the fundamental EU Treaty principles of non-discrimination, transparency, freedom of movement and freedom to provide goods and services. The OPW is not permitted to discriminate on the grounds of nationality in its assessment of tenders.

The function of the Government Supplies Agency have now been subsumed by the National Public Procurement Operations Unit (NPPOU), a new Business Unit within OPW. This new Unit will provide procurement services to a much larger range of customers across the entire public sector. Before entering into any new contracts or agreements, the NPPOU will analyse both the supply markets and the level of demand for the various products and services, and will develop appropriate procurement strategies for each individual market. This may entail changes in the nature and duration of the contractual arrangements, which currently apply. The NPPOU have been in regular consultation with the Print and Packaging Forum to explore measures, which could be adopted to meet the challenges faced by the Irish Print Industry into the future. The NPPOU will encourage greater participation of SME's in public procurement, by providing guidance on how to compete more effectively for future tenders, and also encouraging partnerships between SME's (where appropriate) to bid for the larger print contracts. Through meaningful effective supplier interaction, the NPPOU will support the Print Industry to meet the challenges and opportunities provided for in these national print contracts into the future.