Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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816. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the actions his Department has taken to promote the use of reserved contracts or social clauses in public procurement; the data they collect on the use of reserved contracts or social clauses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42796/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department promotes the use of public procurement as a strategic tool to achieve government objectives and wider societal benefit. We promote what is called strategic public procurement, an umbrella term which includes Green Public Procurement, Socially Responsible Public Procurement and Innovation Procurement.

Last September, my Department held a workshop on strategic public procurement with a range of stakeholders, which explored the challenges and opportunities associated with strategic public procurement. Events such as these have helped inform the public consultation on the new National Public Procurement Strategy, which launched in March. Strategic Public Procurement represents one of the core themes that will underpin the strategy. In addition, one of the foundational policy positions of the strategy is to make participation in public procurement easier for suppliers, particularly micro and small businesses and social enterprises.

The strategy has been subject to an extensive consultation process, which has been critical to understanding the primary challenges and opportunities for both public bodies and suppliers, including around the implementation of socially responsible public procurement practices such as reserving contracts. My officials are currently reviewing the submissions to the public consultation and the insights garnered from three workshops. This feedback will be brought into the next phase of consultation which will involve discussions with key stakeholders to agree desired outcomes and actions for inclusion in the strategy.

My Department has developed a suite of information for public buyers aimed at promoting the use of strategic public procurement. This includes a dedicated information page on Reserved Contracts on the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) website. My Department also published information for suppliers, which includes a dedicated section on social enterprises, which is aimed at promoting public procurement as a business opportunity through the provision of accessible guidance and resources. These supports are supplemented by engaging with public buyers directly at targeted events and on a one-to-one basis. My officials have also presented at a number of fora to promote public procurement as a business opportunity for social enterprises. Building on the work undertaken to date, through the strategy, I am keen to explore further ways in which public procurement can be used as a key lever to bring about wider societal benefit and I will work with colleagues across government to this aim.

Public procurement competitions are advertised using standard notices provided by the European Commission. Referred to as eForms, these notices were extensively revised and implemented on tendering platforms across the EU including on eTenders. In place, since October 2023, the new eForms require Contracting Authorities to include on their notices information on the participation and execution of reserved contracts and the use of criteria relevant to social objectives. Responsibility for including, and the accuracy of, this information lies with each Contracting Authority. Where provided, this information is published in public procurement notices available on eTenders and the EU Tenders’ Electronic Daily (TED), where relevant. To assist Contracting Authorities in the accurate completion of procurement notices, my Department has provided guidance specific to eForms on the OGP website. Digitalisation, including the collection and use of data captured via eForms, is a core theme of the National Public Procurement Strategy.

Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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817. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform whether his department or any agency operating under the aegis of his Department have used reserved contracts or social clauses in their public procurement tenders in the past five years and if so to outline the nature of the reserved contract or social clause; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42854/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In 2020, my Department used an OGP Multi Supplier Framework Agreement for the Provision of Market Research and Surveys Consultancy Service. In addition, the Office of Government Procurement has used Specified Social Clause, Qualitative Award Criteria and/or Selective criteria and/or specification requirements over the past five years.

The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) has used such contracts each year for the past five years. While internally run public procurement exercises do not contain a social value clause, Office of the Journal of the EU or Central Procurement Directorate (NI) advertised procurements as standard contain a social value paragraph and tenders complete Social Value returns where applicable as part of their submission. SEUPB have not availed of any reserved contracts this year.

The OPW uses the social clauses regarding environmental, social and labour law that are included in both the Capital Works Management Framework works and services templates as agreed by the Government Construction Contracts Committee (GCCC) and the OGP as well as the Goods and Services templates provided by the OGP.

In regard to the other bodies under the aegis of my Department, reserved contracts have not been used during the period in question