David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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131. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to set out the points-based criteria on awarding the national tender for public libraries and academic libraries respectively; if the awardees of the contracts benefitted from using an e-invoicing software not yet available here; if the attention of his Department was drawn to the fact, at any stage, that this software was not available to Irish companies before awarding the contracts; the impact of the award of these tenders on the publishing industry, in terms of loss of revenue and job losses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2369/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The provision of public library services, including the procurement of books, is a matter for each local authority in its capacity as a library authority under the Local Government Act 2001. In this regard, a national tender for book stock procurement was run recently by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) on behalf of local authorities. The tender documentation, including technical requirements for the tender, award criteria and the marking scheme, was developed by the LGMA with support from the Education Procurement Service. My Department had no direct role in this process.

The LGMA has confirmed that the process was conducted in a fair and transparent manner and in full compliance with all regulations, policies and guidelines governing public procurement in Ireland. There was no discrimination against any supplier. Indeed, the publication of the tender in six lots sought, as much as possible, to ensure equality of opportunity for all suppliers. At this stage in the process, Irish companies have been successful in four of the six lots.

The procurement of book stock for academic libraries is a matter for the Minister for Education and Skills.