Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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256. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 329 and 331 of 24 June 2025, to the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, which confirmed that responsibility for analysing collapsed or re-run procurement competitions rests with individual contracting authorities, if his Department has estimated or recorded the number of procurement competitions since 2019 that did not result in a contract award due to insufficient submissions, legal challenges, disqualification of bidders, or internal cancellation, recorded or estimated the administrative or financial cost associated with collapsed or re-run procurement competitions during the same period and undertaken any analysis on the underlying reasons for failed competitions and the extent to which outcomes might be improved through better planning, clearer specifications, earlier market engagement, or other procurement reforms; and if not, if his Department will now consider putting in place such monitoring systems, in light of the administrative cost and service delays associated with failed procurement procedures. [40397/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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All procurement by the Department is governed by EU Directives, national Regulations and national policies on procurement typically conveyed through Circulars. These frameworks are designed to ensure that public procurement is conducted in a manner that is transparent, proportionate and ensures equal treatment and value for money. The Department is committed to upholding these principles and must be able to justify all procurement decisions and actions taken.

The Department has established an Internal Procurement Policy which outlines the procedures and responsibilities for the procurement of goods and services. This policy ensures that all staff involved in procurement are fully aware of their legal and policy obligations and are supported by appropriate governance and oversight mechanisms.

While the Department does not maintain a central register of procurement competitions since 2019 that did not result in a contract award—whether due to insufficient submissions, legal challenges, disqualification of bidders, or internal cancellation—its procurement processes are designed to mitigate such risks. These processes include:

• Estimating the full value of the procurement across all phases;
• Using Office of Government Procurement (OGP) frameworks where available;
• Selecting the appropriate procurement procedure based on value and risk;
• Assigning a Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) to oversee each procurement process.