Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Question 224: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if for the purpose of stimulating employment he will consider asking the troika if it will consider a weighting in favour of Irish companies for a wide range of contracts which are advertised by Departments and State bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14248/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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It is a basic principle of EU law that between citizens and businesses within the Union there should not be discrimination on grounds of nationality. This principle of non-discrimination is one of the cornerstones of EU procurement rules. The purpose of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money. It would be a breach of the rules for a public body to favour or discriminate against particular candidates on grounds of nationality and there are legal remedies which may be used against any public body infringing these rules. It is important to realise that the open market regime offers critical opportunities for Irish companies to win business abroad and reliable EU studies indicate that many Irish businesses are successful in this regard.

I am very aware that public procurement can be an important source of business for local enterprises. In general, SMEs' flexibility and ability to respond speedily to requirements can be advantageous in competing for local contracts. Within the context of the procurement guidelines from my Department require public bodies to promote participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in the award of public contracts. The guidelines set out positive measures that contracting authorities are to take to promote SME involvement in a manner that is consistent with the principles and rules of the existing public procurement regulatory regime. The guidance also highlights practices that are to be avoided because they can unjustifiably hinder small businesses in competing for public contracts. The key provisions of the guidance include:

· supplies and general services contracts with an estimated value of €25,000 or more to be advertised on the www.etenders.gov.ie website;

· less use of "restrictive" tendering procedures and greater use of "open" tendering;

· ensuring that the levels set by contracting authorities for suitability criteria are justified and proportionate to the needs of the contract;

· sub-dividing larger requirements into lots where this is practical and can be done without compromising efficiency and value for money;

· the needs and possibilities for small businesses to compete and supply to be taken into account when setting up panels / framework arrangements;

· encouragement of small companies to combine with others to make a joint bid for a contract that they might not be in a position to perform on their own.

Both the National Procurement Service and the development agencies, such as Enterprise Ireland, offer training and support to businesses in order to raise awareness of public procurement opportunities and to improve the capacity of indigenous firms to compete effectively for these opportunities.