Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 249 and 251 together.

In relation to the procurement of legal services, I should point out that contracts for such services are not subject to the full scope of EU Public Procurement Directives. The awarding of individual contracts is a matter for each contracting authority. Therefore the onus is on the contracting authority to ensure that their public procurement complies with national and EU rules.

Whilst the rules for procuring such services are more flexible, national guidelines require that best value for money must be obtained by State bodies in all procurements. Therefore public bodies should procure such services by way of a transparent and objective tendering process. In this regard, my Department issued guidance (Circular 5/13) instructing public bodies of the need to carry out a competitive process for engagement of general legal advisory services to ensure value for money.

The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) is in the process of assessing how such legal services are procured by public bodies with the aim of delivering savings in this area. To this end, OGP will take responsibility for the procurement of Professional Services within which Legal Services falls. The OGP has already established a procurement sourcing team specific to the legal services requirements of Local Authorities. This team is comprised of representatives from a number of Local Authorities and their function is to design a procurement strategy that suits the needs of all Local Authorities while at the same time matching the capacity and capability in the marketplace.

On completion of the procurement strategy design stage, it is anticipated that OGP will (on behalf of all Local Authorities) approach the marketplace by way of a formal tender process in the first half of 2015.