Calls for public procurement ombudsman office

SMEs need more encouragement to avail of the €12bn public procurement market, with only 14% of them bidding in public sector tenders in the past 12 months.

Cross-border enterprise body InterTrade Ireland made the call for more support at its annual Meet the Buyer networking event in Dublin yesterday. The event links key buyers (this year featured the likes of NI Water, the Central Bank, ESB Networks, and the HSE) with SMEs to raise awareness of the kinds of service they tender for, forthcoming opportunities and how they tender.

Opening the event, Simon Harris — the minister of state with special responsibility for public procurement — said public procurement represents “a huge opportunity” for the small business community, and reiterated the Government’s support in the matter.