Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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196. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 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. [33641/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Department’s Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Secretary General has overall responsibility for the Department’s procurement function.

The Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Secretary General is supported by the Director of Finance and eight staff assigned to the Department’s central procurement function.

There are no agencies or public bodies under the Department’s remit.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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197. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 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. [33659/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In addition to the Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Secretary General and the Director of Finance, there are eight staff assigned to the Department’s central procurement function.

The Department actively supports a policy of continuous professional development for all staff working in central public procurement to meet the demand for a capable, technically skilled procurement team with the capacity to work in multi-disciplinary teams that deliver fit-for-purpose procurement results. Procurement training is an element of a broader professional development framework for all the procurement team under PMDS.

All procurement staff members in the Department have undergone certified procurement training with external professional procurement contractors. Procurement staff development involves formal training programs, on-the-job learning, mentorship, seminar attendance and other methods to improve technical capability. Areas covered include procurement directives interpretation, overview of the infrastructure guidelines, e-procurement, principles of good procurement, value for money, tender planning and preparation, green procurement, tender evaluation and contract award, contract preparation and the remedies legislation.

The Department operates in close collaboration with the OGP by utilising central arrangements and also directly procures compliant contracts where necessary.

There are no agencies under the Department’s remit.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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198. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 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. [33677/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Department’s Contract Register is a platform to assist all business units to record, review, and manage their contracts and framework procurement agreements for goods, services and works. The Register is accessible to all staff through the Department’s intranet. The Register is reviewed on periodic basis to ensure that it is up to date and that all relevant contracts are documented. There are no agencies or public bodies under the Department’s remit.