Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the National Procurement Service is currently considering placing art and graphic supplied for schools out to tender; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this could potentially affect paper and stationery suppliers here already undergoing financial difficulties from the economic downturn; the policies in place to increase Irish businesses' engagement with the procurement process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9264/13]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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The National Procurement Service (NPS) is focused on developing centralised arrangements for the procurement of goods and services used commonly across the public service nationwide. The benefits arising from these central arrangements include: cash savings; administrative savings from reduced duplication of tendering; greater purchasing expertise; improved consistency and compliance with EU procurement regulations; and enhanced service levels. The NPS is constantly carrying out research into any number of different markets where it is felt savings for the taxpayer can be made. One such area of spend under review at the moment is the supply of art and graphic supplies for schools. When this research is complete a decision will be made if the level of spend and potential savings warrant the NPS running a national competition for such supplies. The NPS also has, as part of its education and development remit, an active programme to educate SMEs in how to participate effectively in the public service procurement process. To date the NPS has facilitated workshops and presented at seminars to over 3,500 SMEs nationwide. In NPS competitions, the tender documents explicitly seek to encourage the participation of SMEs. A prime example of this is when the NPS decided to divide the office supplies contract into three individual lots for Stationery, ICT Consumables and Paper. This was to increase the possibility for SMEs to tender individually, or form consortia that could enter competitive bids to win this national contract. Codex Ltd, an indigenous company, won the Stationery contract and are sourcing up to 60% of their products using 136 local agents and manufacturers. Furthermore, the ICT Consumables contract was also won by another Irish SME, Datapac Limited.