Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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101. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the details of tenders publicly advertised in County Tipperary in each of the years 2012 to 2016 and to date in 2017 by the Office of Government Procurement or on etendering.ted.europa.eu, which contained a call for suppliers (details supplied); the successful winners of such contracts; the number of SMEs that won such contracts; the number of micro size businesses that won such contracts; the steps being taken to ensure SMEs can access a greater share of publicly advertised tenders by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30370/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The management of the tendering process and the administration of the contract once awarded is a matter for each contracting authority. Public contract details, therefore, are held by the individual contracting authority concerned.

This public procurement process is facilitated through the national eProcurement portal www.etenders.gov.ie which is managed by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP).

The information requested by the Deputy will not be available within the time allowed. An analysis of the tender notices published on eTenders is required in order to identify the procurement categories and locations requested.  The information will issue directly to the Deputy.

In relation to the steps being taken to ensure SMEs can access a greater share of publicly advertised tenders by the government. Public Procurement is governed by EU and National rules. The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers the best value for money.  It would be a breach of the EU rules for a public body to favour particular candidates on grounds such as organisation size, locality, nationality etc., and there are legal remedies which may be used against any public body infringing these rules.  

However, there is a recognition at EU Level of the need to promote and facilitate SME participation in public procurement. The new EU Directives on Procurement, transposed into Irish law in May 2016, are intended to make it easier for businesses and SMEs to tender for public sector procurement contracts.  Measures specifically designed to improve access for SMEs and start-ups include:

- financial capacity criterion is generally limited to twice contract value - there are no centrally imposed requirements for a minimum turnover. Establishing the appropriate suitability criteria that are relevant and appropriate to a particular contract is, of course, a matter for the contracting authority  concerned. This is because the contracting authority is in the best  position to gauge the appropriate levels of financial capacity that are appropriate to the needs of that specific contract.

- discretion to divide public contracts  into lots, with the proviso that opting not to divide a contract into lots must be explained in the procurement documents or the report on the procurement process.

- electronic methods of communication are mandated in parts of the tender process.

- the introduction of the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD), a self-declaration form aimed at reducing red tape for suppliers

- provision for “consortia bidding” may assist SMEs to participate in procurement procedures where they would not have the relevant capability or scale if they were to bid as sole tenderers

- explicit provision for pre-market discussion with suppliers and independent experts, subject  to  safeguards against distorting competition or violating transparency and non-discrimination principles

- reductions in the time limits for receipt of tenders by approximately 30% compared to the position under the 2006 Regulations

- Member States are required to report back to the Commission every 3 years on SME participation in public procurement

A number of these measures had been accelerated into policy in 2014 in advance of the transposition of the new Directives by Circular 10/14 - Initiatives to assist SMEs in Public Procurement - issued by the OGP. 

The reform of public procurement across the public service is on-going and will continue to provide opportunities to the SME sector to win business.  The OGP works with industry to ensure that winning government business is done in a fair, transparent and accessible way and to ensure that government procurement policies are business friendly.  It does this by facilitating quarterly meetings of an SME Advisory Group, which have been chaired by the Minister of State with responsibility for public procurement, so that the voice of Irish SMEs (including ISME, IBEC, SFA, Chambers Ireland, and CIF) can be heard by Government.  SMEs are also encouraged to register with the Government's eTenders portal so that they can be notified of upcoming tendering opportunities.

The OGP works with the SME industry representative bodies as well as the Department of  Enterprise and Innovation, InterTrade Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to promote the engagement of SMEs in public procurement.  Evidence of the work and co-operation in the area can be seen in events such as "Go-2-Tender" workshops and "Meet the Buyer" events.

The data analysed by the OGP and published last September (2014 Public Service Spend and Tendering Analysis Report) indicates that 95% of the State's expenditure is with firms within the State and the majority of spend analysed is with SMEs.

The OGP will continue to proactively engage with business and strive to enhance the significant measures already in place to support SME access to public procurement opportunities.