COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, November 12, 2012

QUESTION NO. 7

QUESTION: Councillor W. Lavelle

To ask the Manager to report on this council's implementation of Department of Finance Circular 10-10 "Guidance Doc on SME participation"?

REPLY:

South Dublin County Council has, over the past two years, made significant progress in implementing in house procurement guidelines, and following the setting up of a Procurement Working Group, has produced a number of guidance documents in relation to public procurement which are available to all staff on the Intranet.  Circular 10/10 forms part of these guidance documents and the Council is very conscious of the needs of SMEs and in particular those SMEs, traders and suppliers operating within its Administrative area.  Where relatively minor spends are envisaged staff involved in procurement are encouraged to request at least three quotes from companies even where Procurement Rules state that only one quote is necessary.  Where threshold values were below €25,000 in 2011 in excess of 2,400 suppliers sold goods to South Dublin County Council.

The National Procurement Service (NPS) have tendered for and awarded a number of National Contracts which the Council is bound to adhere to and these include ICT Consumables, Janitorial Supplies, Stationary and Office Supplies, Advertising and most recently Energy Supplies.