Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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196. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to detail the total expenditure on public procurement by his Department and its agencies, including spending on goods, services and works acquired through public procurement processes, in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [13559/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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All procurement within my Department, is conducted in accordance with applicable EU and national regulations and guidelines and is subject to regular review and oversight to ensure that budgetary control is maintained over the life cycle of individual projects.

Procurement takes place in the context of Directive 2014/24/EU supported by the Procurement Guidelines published by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP). These set out a range of procedures governing the procurement process through tendering to the award of contracts. It also sets out the procedures governing the modification of contracts during their term.

The Department complies with circular 05/2023 and applies the use of a public tender for any procurement with a value over €50,000 excluding VAT. This threshold was increased from €25,000 during 2023 to facilitate SME participation.

The Department also participates fully in on-going initiatives of the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) focusing on ensuring value for money particularly through the use of shared framework agreements for the provision of different categories of supplies and services.

I am advised that the total cost of contracts entered into following a public tendering process and completed by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, in each of the past five years, is detailed in the table below. It should be noted that the 2020 and 2021 figures predated the introduction of the Department's current procurement recording process and have been compiled based on available data.

In relation to the State Agencies under the aegis of my Department, they are responsible for their own procurement processes. I have however asked the Agencies concerned to respond directly to the Deputy.