Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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207. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has examined European Union guidance regarding social considerations for public procurement and enhancing opportunities for procurements in the small and medium sector and the cost of implementing such guidance [46417/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The inclusion of social considerations in public procurement contracts encourage suppliers to perform actions focussed on broader policy considerations. They can be used in public procurement in cases where they are targeted at factoring into the procurement process consideration of social issues such as employment opportunities, equal opportunities and social inclusion.  In order to be compatible with EU law, they must be made known to all interested parties at tender stage and must not restrict participation by contractors from other Member States. It is important to note that a number of social considerations are already included as standard clauses in public procurement tender documents and include the following:

- Taxation and Social insurance payments

- Employment legislation

- Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005

- Waste management

- Human Rights

- Environmental legislation

In order to ensure that the inclusion of additional social considerations do not discriminate, it is vital to adopt a targeted approach to the use of social clauses in contracts.  This is likely to mitigate against risks such as the displacing of workers already in employment while offering the opportunity of assisting with labour activation measures for the long-term unemployed.

This is a complex area and it is important to develop a robust structure that will assist the contracting authority to develop the correct clause and to provide the support from the appropriate agency to aid SMEs in implementing the clause. I have instructed the OGP to report on this issue and to issue practical guidance designed to assist contracting authorities to carry out this important role in a consistent manner.

The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the cost of implementing guidance on the inclusion of social considerations in public procurement will be a matter for each individual contracting authority, as they will be best placed to gauge any additional costs should they arise, on a contract by contract basis.