Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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262. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the purpose of the new schools procurement unit officer role when schools are now prohibited from purchasing supplies from local shops and must instead purchase from central suppliers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22840/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Schools Procurement Unit (SPU) has a central role in communicating procurement requirements and opportunities to schools, driving and measuring compliance with central contracts and managing procurement data across the schools sector.Central contracts only exist for specific ranges of goods and services. Schools are free to procure goods and services not covered by central contracts from their traditional suppliers. Where a central contract exists, a school can procure outside the contract, if it can make a strong commercial case. The Manager of the SPU will provide procurement advice to schools and will assist schools to obtain the best value for money through centralised and aggregated procurement where appropriate.