Minister of State Smyth welcomes Office of Government Procurement report on public tendering and spending

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with Special Responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government, and eGovernment, Ossian Smyth TD, today launched the OGP’s Public Service Spend and Tendering Analysis Report for 2018

This is the OGP’s sixth report on tendering and expenditure on goods, services and minor works by Irish public service bodies (PSBs). These reports are part of the OGP’s commitment to openness and transparency around public procurement in Ireland.

This report analyses €4.83 billion public service procurement addressable spend which is 81% of the total estimate of €6 billion within the remit of the OGP and the Central Purchasing Bodies (CPBs) for Health, Education, Local Government and Defence. As in previous reports, the majority of the expenditure analysed is with SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises). 53% of analysed spend for 2018 was with SMEs. SMEs continue to have a greater share of spend in 11 of the 16 procurement spend categories.

4,413 tender notices recorded on eTenders are analysed with an estimated contract value of €12.59 billion. 76% of tender notices are smaller value (below OJEU threshold) tenders. The median (typical) estimated contract values for tenders analysed in 2018 is €100,000 and is less than or equal to €100,000 in 14 of the 16 spend categories. This would indicate that Government contracts in Ireland are accessible to SMEs given the low median size of estimated contract values for published tenders.

Welcoming the report, Minister of State Smyth said:

“Year-on-year, we see Irish firms and SMEs in winning more public contracts. This annual report reflects our commitment to open Government and transparent Reporting. The OGP works closely with representative bodies from the SME sector through a dedicated advisory group to make all firms aware of the numerous opportunities to win work through the public procurement process.”