Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 190: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way roofing and construction companies can be included on his Departments tender lists for works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16366/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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School building projects are tendered in line with public procurement procedures. There are two methods of tendering, the Restricted procedure and the Open procedure. In both procedures, there are minimum standards for participation including previous experience, turnover, insurance, capacity to obtain a bond, etc. The minimum standards for participation are stated in the Contract notice or the eTenders advertisement. For less complex projects of a small to medium scale, the open procedure is generally used. All contractors meeting the minimum standards are entitled to submit a tender, thus facilitating the inclusion of small to medium enterprises and those with no experience in educational projects. For larger or more complex projects, where it is considered that pre-qualification of contractors is warranted, the Restricted procedure is normally used. In the Restricted procedure, there is an intermediary qualification stage during which the numbers of applicants is reduced or restricted to a specified amount (normally 10). The criteria for suitability assessment, which are taken from the Department of Finance's capital management works framework, include company turnover, insurance, capacity to obtain a bond, personnel for the project, previous experience and health and safety competence. Guidance on this process and standard questionnaires used by the Department are available on my Department's website. The dedicated website for Irish public tenders, www.etenders.gov.ie, has been developed as part of the Government's strategy for the implementation of eProcurement in the Irish public sector. The site is designed to be a central facility for all public sector contracting authorities to advertise procurement opportunities and award notices. Contractors seeking to tender for public works contracts in Ireland should register with this website.