Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

374. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number and value of procurement contracts for Covid-19-related spending in 2020 and 2021 that took place via negotiated procedure without prior publication in his Department. [11174/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department ensures that there is an appropriate focus on good practice in procurement and that procedures are in place to ensure compliance with relevant guidelines and legislation. EU and national rules promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers value for money.

EU Directives declare that there can be legitimate reasons for awarding contracts non-competitively, such as extreme urgency brought about by unforeseeable events or if there is a single supplier to perform the contract. Therefore, a non-competitive procurement is not necessarily non-compliant with procurement rules.

Circular 40/02 issued by the Department of Finance requires my Department to report all contracts above €25,000 (exclusive of VAT) awarded without a competitive process to the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) by 31 March of the following year. My Department is currently compiling the 2020 40/02 report.

Information on any instances of contracts awarded in 2020 and 2021, without a competitive process will be available in my Department's 2020 and 2021 Appropriation Accounts respectively which will be published by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

375. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the breakdown of procurement contracts for Covid-19 related spending in 2020 and 2021 that took place via negotiated procedure without prior publication by his Department, by goods and service type in tabular form. [11203/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department ensures that there is an appropriate focus on good practice in procurement and that procedures are in place to ensure compliance with relevant guidelines and legislation. EU and national rules promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers value for money.

EU Directives declare that there can be legitimate reasons for awarding contracts non-competitively, such as extreme urgency brought about by unforeseeable events or if there is a single supplier to perform the contract. Therefore, a non-competitive procurement is not necessarily non-compliant with procurement rules.

Circular 40/02 issued by the Department of Finance requires my Department to report all contracts above €25,000 (exclusive of VAT) awarded without a competitive process to the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) by 31 March of the following year. My Department is currently compiling the 2020 40/02 report.

Information on any instances of contracts awarded in 2020 and 2021, without a competitive process will be available in my Department's 2020 and 2021 Appropriation Accounts respectively which will be published by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

376. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development further to Parliamentary Question No. 287 of 25 November 2020, if further details of six of the projects submitted by four library authorities (details supplied) that included a social consideration clause will be provided, in particular the value of each of these contracts; and the nature of the contract work and a description of the social clauses used therein in tabular form. [10787/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Circular 20/2019 on Promoting the use of Environmental and Social Considerations in Public Procurement provides for public bodies to deliver wider social aims through their procurement processes by the inclusion of social considerations, such as the promotion of social enterprises.

The purpose of such a clause is to support the inclusion of social enterprises in public procurement given their not-for-private-profit nature and their ability to deliver the same quality product or service but with potentially wider social benefits.

My Department approved funding of €691,231 for the provision of sensory facilities and equipment in public libraries across 30 library authorities on 27 February 2020.

Six of the projects submitted for approval by the four library authorities in question included a public procurement social consideration clause and details of these projects are provided in the attached file.