Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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84. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the due diligence measures taken on companies to which State contracts are awarded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2635/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Public Procurement is governed by EU legislation and National rules and guidelines. The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money.

When carrying out procurement procedures, contracting authorities require suppliers to comply with a wide variety of legislation in areas that would include taxation, social policy, the environment and employment law. Compliance with the legislation covering these areas is rightly a matter for the relevant Departments and/or Agencies.

Recently revised public procurement procedures require applicants to meet certain standards when applying for public contracts. The criteria upon which contracting authorities may exclude applicants from the award procedure of public contracts are set out in Regulation 57 of S.I. No. 284 of 2016 – European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016 and Article 57 (4a) and Recitals (100) and (101) of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement. Before an applicant, in relation to certain breaches, is excluded, they may make a case and provide supporting evidence as to why it should not be excluded. The contracting authority must consider this evidence before deciding whether to exclude or include an applicant. In addition, the qualifying tenderer must submit signed declarations stating that none of the circumstances (e.g. participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, terrorist offences etc.) outlined in Regulation 57 of S.I. No. 284 or Article 57 of 2014/24/EU apply.

The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) has responsibility for developing and setting out the overarching policy framework for public procurement in Ireland. In this regard, the OGP has developed the National Public Procurement Policy Framework which consists of 5 strands:

- Legislation (Directives, Regulations)

- Government Policy (Circulars, etc.)

- Capital Works Management Framework for Public Works

- General Procurement Guidelines for Goods and Services

- More detailed technical guidelines, template documentation and information notes as issued periodically by the OGP

This framework enables a more consistent approach to public procurement across the public sector by setting out the procurement procedures to be followed by public bodies.

In July last year, my colleague, Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan, launched new Public Procurement Guidelines for Goods and Services. This comprehensive interpretation of the public procurement directives has been designed to improve consistency and promote best practice in the application of the public procurement rules. Whilst these guidelines have been designed to facilitate Public Bodies in meeting their corporate governance requirements in relation to procurement, it is the responsibility of each contracting authority to ensure that they comply with EU and national rules in this regard.