Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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208. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will legislate for a social value clause in public procurement contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18238/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Social clauses in contracts encourage suppliers to perform actions focussed on broader policy considerations.  EU law leaves the Member States the option to take social considerations into account provided the general principles of EU law, i.e. the free movement provisions and the principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination, mutual recognition, proportionality and transparency, are respected.

The Government is not opposed to the principle of social clauses.  As the Deputy is aware, the Government has indicated its support in principle to two Private Members Bills dealing with social clauses, one put forward by his Party and the other by Sinn Féin. The appropriateness of including social  clauses in procurement projects will vary from contract to contract and they are likely to be most suited to works and services contracts.  It is therefore important that any policy instrument that is developed affords the State the necessary flexibility to design social clauses that are relevant to the needs of a specific contract and do not disadvantage the wider economy.

It was with this in mind in June of last year that I established a Social Clauses Project Group to proactively look at projects which might be suitable for inclusion of social clauses aimed at the long term unemployed and/or apprentices.  The group has been working with the various procuring sectors and has identified 11 projects which will be used to test the inclusion of social clauses in tender and contract documentation.

In addition to this initiative, I would also like to point to another initiative on social clauses - the Devolved Schools Programme - which is being administered by the NDFA on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills. This pilot project has sought to introduce social clauses in three contracts covering fourteen sites comprising both stand-alone, new build and extensions/refurbishment works.  I understand that reporting from the three main contractors to the NDFA indicates that the initiative has resulted to date in the hiring of 50 employees who had been unemployed for more than 12 months and a further 18 apprentices/trainees.

Overall, it is important to learn from the practical experience of the pilot projects outlined above on how social clauses can be effectively used as well as from the practical experience of their use in other jurisdictions.  The Government believes that further debate and discussion is required as to the correct policy approach regarding enabling social clauses, mindful of course of the need to maintain flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.