Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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563. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if his Department has a designated head of procurement; if each agency or public body under his Department’s remit also has a designated head of procurement; and if so, to list those entities, along with the name or grade of the person holding that role. [33648/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has a designated Procurement Officer as provided for in the Department of Finance Circular 40/02. The Departments Procurement Officer is at Principal Officer grade.

Details in relation to my Department’s agencies are set out below.

The Citizens Information Board has a Procurement Officer at Higher Executive Officer grade.

The Pensions Authority has a Procurement Officer at Principal Officer grade.

The Pensions Council is an advisory body to the Minister and the secretariat is provided by the Pensions Authority. There is no designated head of procurement for the Pensions Council.

The Social Welfare Tribunal does not have any procurement of services in relation to the operations of the Tribunal. There is no designated head of procurement for the Social Welfare Tribunal.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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564. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of staff within his Department and its agencies who hold a formal procurement qualification or certification (for example, CIPS, NFQ Level 6 or higher in procurement, EU public procurement training), broken down by organisation, in tabular form. [33666/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Department implements strict governance of public procurement, and all staff involved in procurement must adhere to comprehensive rules set out in the Department’s Procurement Policy and Procedures.

The Department and its agencies fully comply with all government procedures for procurement, ensuring that best practice and regulatory requirements are consistently met across all operations. This commitment extends to all agencies under the Department’s remit, which are also required to maintain compliance with national procurement standards and the relevant EU Directives and regulations.

The Department has a dedicated Project and Procurement Policy Office, which provides support and guidance in procurement matters. Training and advice are provided by the Office of Government Procurement through regular online information sessions and in-person events.

There are currently 6 staff in the Project and Procurement Policy Office, all of whom hold an accredited Certificate in Public Procurement from Public Affairs Ireland.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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565. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if his Department and each agency or public body under its remit uses a formal contract management system or procurement tracking platform; to list the systems in use; and if they are centrally monitored or independently operated. [33684/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has a robust governance process in place to assure the management control of procurement and contract management. A central register of all contracts awarded is maintained. This register is held on an in-house SharePoint application which is monitored by the Project Office & Procurement Policy Unit.

Details in relation to my Department’s agencies are set out below.

Citizens Information Board do not use a formal contract management system or procurement tracking platform. Citizens Information Board tracks contracts using excel based contracts registers.

The Pensions Authority use Sage 200 to track its contracts. This contract register is centrally maintained, monitored and reported on by the procurement team in the Authority’s Operations Unit.

The Pensions Council is an advisory body to the Minister and the secretariat is provided by the Pensions Authority. Procurement is handled on their behalf by Pensions Policy. There is no Contract Management System for the Pensions Council.

The Social Welfare Tribunal does not have any procurement of services in relation to the operations of the Tribunal.

There is no Contract Management System for the Social Welfare Tribunal.