Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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616. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality 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. [33645/25]

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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617. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality 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. [33663/25]

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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618. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality 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. [33681/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 616, 617 and 618 together.

My Department has a designated qualified Head of Procurement who is a Principal Officer and I am informed that seven staff members in the Procurement Unit also hold formal procurement qualifications. These qualifications include; Certificate in Public Procurement from the Institute of Public Administration, and Advanced Diploma in Public Procurement Law from King’s Inns.

In addition, Procurement Unit staff hold ancillary / related qualifications at NFQ levels eight and nine in Business, Business Administration, Computer Science, Project Management and Strategic Management. Staff involved in procurement throughout the Department also regularly attend Office of Government Procurement (OGP) information and training sessions.

Public procurement practices are subject to audit and scrutiny under the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993. Procurement is also subject to internal audit within my Department.

My Department and its aegis bodies use the Irish Government’s procurement portal, ‘eTenders’ (www.etenders.gov.ie), to conduct procurement competitions for all goods and services over €50,000. This platform is the responsibility of the OGP.

eTenders tracks the following parts of the procurement process:

• Advertising including Pre-Market Consultation (as appropriate).
• Publication of tender documentation.
• Management of clarifications.
• Receipt of tenders.
• Secure and formal tender response opening procedure.
• Management of contract award letters and award notices.

• Capture details of contracts in place across the Department.
• Send alerts on upcoming contract expiry dates; and
• Provide data for reports.