'Bureaucratic' public procurement process 'a barrier' to SMEs

A number of barriers exist for SMEs wishing to secure contracts in the all island public procurement market, according to InterTradeIreland.

InterTradeIreland said the market is worth up to €21bn a year, North and South and the market has become so large that SMEs cannot afford to ignore it.

However, the group said that many SMEs still perceive there are barriers to overcome in securing public sector contracts.

These include "unnecessarily high qualification levels, understanding of public sector buying practices and the bureaucratic nature of the process".