Written answers
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Department of Finance
Public Procurement Contracts
Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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295. To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [33640/25]
Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the deputy that my department has a dedicated procurement unit and this is headed by an Assistant Principal Officer (APO). The APO performs the role of Procurement Officer for the department, which is aligned with the Office of Government Procurements Information Note entitled ‘Procurement Officer Role’. In line with the Civil Service grade structure, the APO reports to a Principal Officer.
The bodies under the aegis of my Department have provided the below information.
Body under Aegis of Department of Finance | Head of Procurement |
|---|---|
| Central Bank of Ireland | Head of Function - Procurement |
| Credit Review | Deputy Credit Reviewer |
| Irish Fiscal Advisory Council | There is no designated head of procurement. The role of Procurement Officer is fulfilled by the Administrator & Council Secretary (Grade HEO), who liaises with the Chief Economist/Head of Secretariat (Grade PO) in respect of procurement requirements, and co-ordinates the procurement process for the Fiscal Council. |
| National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) | NAMA has a designated head of procurement. Staff are assigned to NAMA by the NTMA. The NTMA does not operate a grade system for employees. |
| Financial Services & Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) | Higher Executive Officer |
| Office of the Revenue Commissioners | Principal Officer |
| National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) | Deputy Director The National Treasury Management Agency does not operate a grades system. It assigns staff to Home Building Finance Ireland and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland. |
| Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General | Higher Executive Officer |
| Tax Appeals Commission | Assistant Principal Officer The Tax Appeals Commission has one staff member who deals with procurement along with other duties. |
Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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296. To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [33658/25]
Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that the details of the number of staff, in my Department, who hold a formal procurement qualification or certification (for example, CIPS, NFQ Level 6 or higher in procurement, EU public procurement training) in set out in the Tables below.
Table A sets out the details requested in respect of my Department. Table B sets out the details in respect of bodies under the aegis of my Department.
Table A:
| Department | Number of staff who hold a formal procurement qualification or certification |
|---|---|
| Department of Finance | 3 staff members |
Body under Aegis of Department of Finance | Formal procurement qualification/certification |
|---|---|
| Central Bank of Ireland | All 12 members of staff working in the Procurement function have successfully completed EU public procurement training. |
| Credit Review | The Credit Review have very limited procurement activity as almost all business services are provided by Enterprise Ireland (EI). It uses EI’s qualified expert in their procurement team to assist, or hire external consultants (Greenville), or drawdown from government frameworks. |
| Financial Services & Pensions Ombudsman | 1 staff member in the function, with Continuous Professional Development. |
| Irish Fiscal Advisory Council | 1 staff member holds a MSc. Supply Chain Management |
| National Asset Management Agency | 1 staff member |
| National Treasury Management Agency | 11 staff members holding the requisite qualifications relevant to their current role. The NTMA assigns staff to Home Building Finance Ireland and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland. |
| Office of the Comptroller & Auditor General | While the head of procurement does not hold a formal procurement qualification or certification, they have over 20 years of experience in procurement roles. The Office considers this adequate for the nature and volume of procurement it undertakes. |
| Office of the Revenue Commissioners | 4 staff members |
| Tax Appeals Commission | The Tax Appeals Commission is a very small organisation and does not have staff designated to procurement on a full-time basis. The function comes under an officer at the grade of Assistant Principal Officer who does not hold a formal procurement qualification but has learnt through experience and mentoring. |
Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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297. To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [33676/25]
Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that my department uses standard office software to record current contracts in place. The department has a number of divisions, and each division is responsible for contract management within its own area. My department has a dedicated procurement unit which supports divisions, deals with compliance and keeps a register of all contracts in the department. Currently there is work ongoing to further develop monitoring of contracts through the Microsoft ‘Build to Share’ platform.
The bodies under the aegis of my Department have provided the information in the attached table.
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