Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

455. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of existing contracts of an indefinite period entered into by his Department prior to the enactment of the EU procurement directive. [53230/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department operates in a number of locations in Ireland and approximately 90 locations worldwide. It comprises two Votes; Vote 27 International Cooperation and Vote 28 Foreign Affairs. The policy of the Department is to operate competitive tendering as standard procedure in order to achieve best value for money.

The Department 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).

On occasion, a small number of Department contracts do not undergo a competitive process due to exceptional market or other circumstances. Such contracts are recorded in accordance with DPER Circular 40/02. The majority of the contracts relate to provision of proprietary ICT services or to situations where there was a single suitable supplier available.

The Department does not enter into contracts of an indefinite period.