Organisation information
What we do
From Office of Government Procurement
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Procurement is the process used by the State when buying goods, services or works (works means things like building schools and hospitals).
The series of steps that must be followed include:
- market research
- competitive bidding
- a selection process
Public procurement law ensures:
- fairness
- transparency
- integrity
- value for money
- compliance
Ongoing procurement reform brings green and social benefits to society. It also achieves better value for money for the State.
A key part of public service reform is to achieve better value for money through public procurement.
The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) plays a central role in helping the State to achieve value for money when buying goods and services. We operate as a Divison office of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER). We have 250 staff in five locations across the country, Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Sligo and Meath.
We are responsible for sourcing common products and services for the public service, from pens and paper to Garda uniforms and laptops. Our sourcing teams offer an extensive range of commercial agreements to help clients buy what they need when they need it. This saves them time and money.
The OGP also supports complex one-off projects like the roll-out of the new passports service. For this service, we played a key role in addressing the backlog for passports by supporting the procurement of a new passport issuing and processing system.
Our remit includes a range of other activities that support procurement transformation, like policy and training. We provide specific training through our Commercial Skills Academy. We also provide advisory services for clients and suppliers.
The OGP develops and manages procurement policy and procedures which lead to better procurement practices. We develop strategic green and socially responsible policy, alongside progressive construction policy.
Our Operational Excellence and Service Delivery teams are focused on digitalisation to make the procurement process more accessible and easier to understand.
The OGP and our sector sourcing partners are known as Central Purchasing Bodies (CPBs). The CPBs source required goods and services on behalf of the public sector. Our sector partners cover the areas of Health, Education, Local Government and Defence.
The CPBs source goods and services from 16 categories. Eight of these categories cover goods and services that are common across the public service, like:
- energy
- consultancy
- legal expertise
The OGP put in place contracts and framework agreements so that public bodies can buy these common categories of goods and services.
The other eight categories of goods and services are mainly sector-specific. These categories are sourced by the relevant sector sourcing organisations. For example, the health-sourcing organisation will source medical professional services on behalf of the public service.
The CPBs use competition among suppliers to increase quality and value. Public bodies spend about €18.5 billion a year on goods, services and works. Our analysis shows that 92 per cent of this is spent with firms in Ireland. More than half of business is done directly with small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). Public procurement for small local businesses is very important. We must encourage SMEs and increase their participation in public procurement.
The ongoing reform programme will continue to provide opportunities to the SME sector to win business in a fair, transparent and accessible way. DPER will continue to work with SMEs and help them to access public procurement opportunities. We will also target very small enterprises. This will help to grow the economy and provide competition within the market.
We advocate using public procurement to provide and influence positive outcomes for the people of Ireland. Public procurement should also be used to support broader social, environmental, and economic progress that goes beyond the immediate purchase of goods and services. For instance, we provide a wide range of green frameworks to help combat climate change.
The OGP puts in place quality solutions that deliver value for money. We cater to different client needs and aim to develop flexible and easy to use frameworks.
To see the results of our most recent 'Client Satisfaction Surveys' click on the links below:
