Government ‘could save €1bn on procurement’

UP to €1 billion could be saved every year if the Government used alternative public procurement methods such as public private partnerships, say a high level group.

The Information Society Commission said yesterday savings on public procurement could increase six-fold if international practices were introduced in Ireland.

In the report, Modernising Public Procurement, other recommendations for reaping savings are to resource the National e-Procurement Strategy adequately, enhance the e-tenders website and support SME adjustment in line with procurement reform.

Launching the report, Minister of State for the Information Society Mary Hanafin said: “As a purchaser, Government spends around €9 billion annually on goods and services.

This report is timely in capturing clearly the significant savings on this amount that modern procurement practices can deliver for Government, savings that can in turn be harnessed to deliver better quality public services to the citizen.”

Chairwoman of the ISC e-Business Working Group Clodagh O’Donnell said progress to date on procurement reform has been disappointing and has been inhibited by budgetary constraints.

The Information Society Commission (ISC) is an independent advisory group to the Government based in the Department of the Taoiseach,

The ISC studied best international practice and international surveys to compare Irish methods with those used elsewhere.

A recent global procurement report surveyed 150 companies in the US, Britain and Germany and found over 60% of high performing companies saved between 10%-12% in procurement budgets by adopting e-procurement practices.