Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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184. To ask the Taoiseach 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. [33649/25]

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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185. To ask the Taoiseach 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. [33667/25]

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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186. To ask the Taoiseach 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. [33685/25]

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 184 to 186, inclusive, together.

All procurement within the Department of the Taoiseach and in the National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO) - the only body under the aegis of the Department - is conducted in accordance with applicable EU and national regulations and Office of Government Procurement (OGP) guidance.

The Department of the Taoiseach has a designated procurement officer at Higher Executive Officer level in its Finance Unit. In NESDO, the Head of Corporate Affairs (Assistant Principal level) acts as the designated head of procurement.

A Procurement Advisory Group (PAG) also meets at regular intervals throughout the year in the Department of the Taoiseach. The PAG is chaired by the Head of Corporate Affairs (Principal Officer level) and comprises officials from Finance Unit, Internal Audit Unit and from business units in the Department that generate the bulk of our purchasing and procurement activity. The PAG provides advice and guidance as necessary to business units across the Department and addresses any issues raised in respect of procurement.

Officers involved in the procurement function in the Department and in NESDO have received regular, focussed training from fully qualified service providers. The Department's Corporate Procurement Plan requires in-house procurement training for employees of the Department. This training is routinely provided by the Department's Finance Unit.

The Department of the Taoiseach operates a Contracts Database - managed centrally by the Finance Unit - to track and monitor all contracts entered into by the Department. Given the small scale of procurement in NESDO, contracts are monitored and tracked by the Head of Corporate Affairs in their role as designated head of procurement.