Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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139. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the library tender for supply of books furnished by Dún Laoghaire and Fingal and South Dublin County Councils which resulted in a UK wholesalers gaining the contract over Irish operators, his views on whether the current procurement policy of prioritising price and centralised buying is favouring UK wholesalers and discriminating against other suppliers and is in essence predatory pricing. [20405/14]

John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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140. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if guidelines, circulars or directives will be issued to local authorities to ensure Irish companies are always considered before any local authority procurement contracts are awarded; and if greater consideration will be given to the benefits to local communities in terms of job creation arising from such considerations. [20441/14]

John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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141. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if local authorities will be issued with new guidelines in awarding procurement contracts for library schemes whereby Irish companies are actively encouraged to submit bids for contracts and are given every consideration before contracts are awarded. [20442/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 to 141, inclusive, together.

The provision of public library services is a matter for each local authority in its capacity as a library authority, under Section 78 of the Local Government Act 2001.  This includes the procurement of books and other services and my Department does not have a direct role in these matters.  Local authorities must adhere to national and EU requirements when undertaking procurement processes.  These requirements do not exclude Irish companies from tendering for such contracts.

In the future, the issue of shared procurement will be addressed in the context of the Strategy for Public Libraries 2013-2017 entitled Opportunities for All. Under this strategy a policy for shared acquisitions for libraries will be developed, including a national acquisitions consortium for public library print and electronic resources that maximises the cost-effectiveness of expenditure, increases purchasing power and gets the best choice of material to the user in line with government policy. The Programme for Governmentidentified the role public procurement can play as an instrument to support innovation and allow greater access for SMEs, including micro-Enterprises, to the public sector market. As part of the Public Service Reform Plan, the Government established the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) to drive a new consolidated and integrated approach to public procurement. The OGP is committed to ensuring that SMEs are fully engaged with public sector procurement and the opportunities presenting.

In the context of the reform of the Public Service and the establishment of the Office of Government Procurement, it has been decided to update and strengthen measures aimed at facilitating SME participation in Public Procurement in order to reinforce their application across the public sector. In April 2014, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform issued Circular 10/14: Initiatives to assist SMEs in Public Procurementwhich has been brought to the notice of the local authority sector and will be implemented by all local authorities.

The guidance in this circular is designed to further enable SMEs in competing for public contracts. This is in line with EU policy on increased SME participation in public procurement. At all times this guidance is to be implemented by buyers in accordance with the principles of EU law, and in a manner that is fully compliant with EU public procurement law and national guidelines. All public sector procurement contracts within the EU, irrespective of value, are covered by the principles set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) of non-discrimination, equal treatment, proportionality and transparency.