Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 209: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the value of public tenders for the years 2008, 2009, 2010 and to date in 2011. [35797/11]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 210: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the value of public tenders awarded to Irish companies for the years 2008, 2009, 2010. [35798/11]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 211: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the value of public tenders awarded to non-Irish companies for the years 2008, 2009, 2010. [35799/11]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 212: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the value of public tenders to small, medium and large Irish companies for the years 2009, 2010. [35801/11]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 209 to 212, inclusive, together.

The table answers Questions Nos. 209 to 211, inclusive. Information on contract placement is available currently for the years 2008-2010 relates to above-EU threshold contracts only and is contained in the tabular statement below. Data in respect of 2011 will not be available until the third quarter 2012 as this data is collated a year in arrears. The Deputy should be aware that the figures contained in the table relates to the number of contracts placed which were above the EU Threshold for the year in question and must not be interpreted as indicative statistics for the overall procurement spend. It must also be borne in mind that these statistics relate only to above threshold procurements, where contract award notices were published, and where the nationality of the winning tenderer was disclosed.

For example, when considering the year 2009, €2.8 billion worth of expenditure was advertised in the Official Journal, out of the €15 billion public procurement spend in that year. The National Procurement Service estimates that less than 5% of the overall spend went to non-domestic suppliers, as a significant proportion of the overall procurement spend is below the EU threshold and is also below the threshold for advertising on eTenders (the eTenders threshold was €50,000 in 2009).

It should be noted also that all the statistics relating to non-domestic suppliers relate to suppliers with an address in countries other than Ireland and do not distinguish between European and non-European suppliers.

Above Threshold Contracts awarded to Irish and non-domestic suppliers 2008-2010

For Question 212, information of the size of Irish companies winning tenders is not available, as it is not collected centrally. As the majority of Irish companies fall into the SME bracket, it can be assumed that the majority of tenders are in fact going to SMEs. The new eTenders system, when implemented in the new-year, will collect data on the size of companies winning tenders and it will then be possible to provide this information in respect of all future contracts.