Written answers

Tuesday, 29 March 2022

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Organic Farming

Photo of Matt CarthyMatt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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854. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has a strategy to increase the procurement of organic produce by Departments, State agencies or public bodies; if his Department provides related guidance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15914/22]

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Strategy for the Development of the Organic Sector identified Public Procurement as an area to be developed. Minister of State Hackett is currently examining the composition of the membership of the Organic Strategy Group to ensure that a wide range of stakeholders in the organic meat, dairy, horticulture, cereals and aquaculture sectors are represented as well as expertise from the Office of Government Procurement.

A meeting of the Strategy Group will be held in the near future, and measures to assist in developing public procurement in the organic sector will be an item on the agenda.

The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) is the Office, operating under the aegis of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which is responsible for public procurement.

The broader guidance issued to public bodies is contained within the Action Plan on Green Public Procurement which falls within the remit of Department of Environment, Climate and Communications.

Government consumption accounts for a sizeable part of economic activity and demand. This provides Ireland’s public sector with considerable leverage to stimulate the marketplace in favour of the provision of more resource-efficient, less polluting goods, services and works.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the aegis of DECC has issued updated guidelines in 2021 on Green Public Procurement, which incorporates Organic produce under Food and Catering Services

The Guidance is accompanied by Irish Green Public Procurement criteria for the ten priority sectors which have been developed, based on common EU criteria with adaptations to reflect the Irish market and procurement practices. These criteria are designed to be directly inserted into tender documents, and include information on how compliance can be confirmed, for example by reference to eco-labels or environmental product declarations including evidence of organic certification.

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