Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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30. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps he will take to ensure that private companies are not over-charging his Department or agencies under its remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9989/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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My Department operates a number of controls and procedures in relation to procurement and contracts largely informed by Public Procurement Guidelines published by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) which performs a key role in helping the State to save money when buying goods and services.

The purpose of these guidelines is to promote best practice and consistency of application by Government Departments and State Bodies in relation to the purchase of goods and services, using the guiding principles of transparency and openness of competition. These guidelines are available to all staff in my Department and the OGP hold regular information sessions and workshops which are regularly attended by officers in my Department. The OGP also operates procurement frameworks designed for low to medium-risk goods and services which are availed of by my Department where appropriate.

Contracts in excess of €50,000 (ex VAT) are advertised through the EU tenders website and are subject to EU Directives 2014/23, 2014/24, and 2014/25. Such contracts are also subject to Government Circular 05/2023 which provides for greater use of existing OGP frameworks, amongst other measures.

By way of additional internal controls in my Department, all contracts in excess of €25,000 (ex VAT), and contracts of a consultancy nature regardless of value, are subject to approval by my Department’s Management Board before any competitive or selection process commences. This is followed up by a formal process which underlines the final value and expiry date of the contract, the latter being monitored on an ongoing basis. In addition, a quarterly report issues to all staff showing vendors paid over €25,000 (ex VAT), for sign off and agreement at senior official level. There are also area-specific monthly transaction reports issued for similar sign off. Purchase orders in excess of €20,000 (inc. VAT) are submitted to the Management Board and published quarterly online.

Further, my Department has division-based formal manuals of Procedures for Internal Financial Control, that are reviewed and signed off annually and which, in turn, feed into the Statement of Internal Financial Control in my Department’s Appropriation Account. These internal documents also provide frameworks for applicable common procedures, and internal Departmental processes. There are also a number of controls exercised at payment stage by the Financial Shares Services utilised by my Department, including invoice matching, tax compliance, and appropriate payment authorisation as set by internal controls.

In terms of the agencies, the management of contracts and related payments are a day-to-day operational matter in which I, as Minister, have no role.