Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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272. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of the information his Department collates as per circular 20/2019 (details supplied); the date this report was issued; the location on his Departmental website on which it can be found; and the progress in relation to green procurement that has been made to date. [25432/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs ensures that there is an appropriate focus on good practice in procurement and that procedures are in place to ensure compliance with all relevant procurement guidelines. Procurement takes place in compliance with Directive 2014/24/EU and supported by procurement guidelines published by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP).

Under DPER Circular 20/2019, beginning with the 2020 Annual Report, each Department is required to report annually on progress in relation to Green Public Procurement in Ireland. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in co-operation with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) and the OGP, developed the template to be used by Government Departments to meet the reporting requirement. The template includes the eight priority sectors listed in the EPA’s 2014 Green Procurement Guidance for the Public Sector.

The Department recognises the environmental benefits of Green Public Procurement, however, the majority of the Department’s procurement contracts in Ireland are with small firms or individuals providing professional, consultancy and general services.

The Department submitted its 2020 GPP Report to the EPA on the 31March 2021 (see tables below) and it will be published in due course in the Department’s Annual Report 2020 in line with the Circular’s provisions.

Department of Foreign Affairs – Green Public Procurement Report 2020

Table 1. Priority Sectors

Table 2. Other Sectors