Coughlan announces “project” to devise SME friendly Irish public procurement policy

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, TD on Thursday confirmed that she has commenced work within her Department on a project aimed at improving opportunities for small and medium enterprise (SME) access to public procurement business. Coughlan was speaking in Brussels at a meeting of the EU’s Competitiveness Council, where she claimed she had emphasised to colleagues, that EU procurement rules must also reflect the Union’s “think small first” approach to entrepreneurship. To coincide with the lecture in Brussels, there is at last an effort starting in Dublin to match lip service on policy towards encouraging start-ups and developing SMEs, with procurement by the biggest purchaser of goods and services in the State. Change comes at glacial speed in the sclerotic Irish political system and changes in rules for procurement are likely to help but endemic cronyism will not change while the overall governance system remains in an archaic timewarp.

The State purchases €16 billion worth of goods and services each year and Finfacts has often highlighted the lack of transparency in the process and the opportunities for Insiders to exclude firms beyond the crony loopc of senior politicians, senior public service managers and favoured business people.

It’s an opaque process where for example large IT projects can be issued with no requirement to subcontract work to competent small firms. No information is available on the main suppliers to the State.

There is also the issue of value for money.

For example, the National Consumer Agency cannot provide a price comparison website, as one tendered through the public process would likely be ordered from a big firm and cost more than €1 million. Meanwhile, the NCA can issue a public relations contract for €200,000  – - a sum which wouldn’t be required to get an SME to provide a  high standard web service.

FinActs.ie