The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) in collaboration with ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability hosted the workshop on the strategic use of public procurement in the Republic of Ireland on September 25th, 2024. The workshop brought together 27 participants from across government departments, universities, social enterprises and business representatives, as well as representatives from the OGP, and the European Commission. 

During the workshop, the OGP representatives emphasized Ireland’s commitment to developing a National Public Procurement Strategy at both a national and local level. This is particularly important as Ireland prepares for its upcoming EU Council Presidency in 2026. The OPG also outlined the existing circulars, guidance, and policies in Ireland that underpin the Irish procurement system. 

The workshop covered Ireland’s current procurement landscape, as well as challenges and possible solutions to address these. While Ireland has a good track record in green public procurement, the sessions highlighted areas for improvement in circular, socially responsible, and innovation procurement. 

The participants were divided into three groups. The first group discussed issues related to market engagement, the second internal coordination within an organisation, and the third collaboration across organisations. Participants identified regulatory complexity, lack of data, and insufficient cross-departmental collaboration as the key current challenges. 

Solutions proposed during the workshop included increased professionalisation of procurement staff, better data collection and reporting mechanisms, and fostering closer collaboration between public and private sector actors. The stakeholders emphasized the need for pre-procurement assessments, a shift towards risk acceptance, and the creation of a professional association for public procurers to enhance skills and networking.

Throughout the workshop, the Irish stakeholders were particularly engaged and actively participating in the discussions. 

The workshop concluded by outlining the next steps for developing a roadmap to advance strategic public procurement in Ireland. This will involve further consultations, capacity-building efforts, and the establishment of cross-organisational task forces. A follow-up meeting is scheduled for December 11th to track progress and ensure that the proposed actions are moving forward.

This workshop took place in the context of DG GROW’s Procurement Dialogue Initiative, which  aims to develop a dialogue on the use of strategic public procurement (green, social and innovation) in all 27 EU Member States. The main objectives of the project are to understand the current state of strategic use of public procurement within each of 27 Member States and identify existing barriers and potential solutions, cooperate with local key stakeholders to prepare a roadmap towards the development of strategic public procurement and develop communication paths between the European Commission and Member States regarding strategic procurement.

Find out more about the Procurement Dialogue Initiative here: https://public-buyers-community.ec.europa.eu/communities/public-procurement-dialogues/how-join-public-procurement-dialogues