Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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61. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department and any commercial or non-commercial State bodies and private entities subsidised by 50% or more of public funding under the aegis of his Department have implemented social clauses in their public procurement contracts in the past three years (details supplied); and if so, the nature of these social clauses. [39054/20]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, good progress has already been made by the Department in including strategic, green and social policy considerations in public procurement processes more broadly. This has been done for example through: (a) the publication of an Information Note on Incorporating Social Considerations into Public Procurement in 2018; (b) the roll out of Circular 20/2019: Promoting the use of Environmental and Social Considerations in Public Procurement and (c) the ongoing work of the cross-departmental Social Considerations Advisory Group, which is chaired by the Office of Government Procurement.

As the Department's core procurement requirements involve the procurement of professional services, such as business consultancy, training and advisory services, it has not, in the main, been in a position to incorporate such clauses into its procurement contracts. A number of contracts by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer have been concluded on foot of drawdowns from ICT procurement frameworks, which are established centrally by the Office of Government Procurement, and inherit the social clauses relating to green / energy efficiency requirements included therein.

I am advised that a similar position applies in respect of the bodies under the aegis of my Department.

The Office of Public Works is currently collating details in response to the Question and will reply directly to the Deputy.