Clare Firms Losing Out In Public Sector Tenders

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 15:49

Written by Conor Joyce

Small companies throughout County Clare are finding it increasingly difficult to compete for Irish public sector tenders. That is according to the Small Firms Association (SFA) which says many contracts, previously undertaken by local or regional firms, are being awarded to Northern Ireland and UK-based companies.

SFA Director Patricia Callan said Government policy on the need to save money in public procurement is “working completely at odds with its enterprise support and job creation agenda for regions throughout Ireland”.

Callan called on the government to immediately overhaul its public procurement procedures, which is preventing many smaller Clare companies from winning valuable public contracts.

In a SFA survey of 650 Irish businesses, many of which are Clare-based, 82% of companies who had tendered found the emphasis on price instead of value for money to be either a major or minor difficulty. 71% of firms viewed the reduction in government expenditure generally as a difficulty.

Ms. Callan said smaller Clare firms, especially from the technology and construction sectors, are being forced to complete tender documents that can be lengthy with unnecessary information being sought, and with little recognition given to the SME environment which has limited resources available.

“This is a perennial problem we have encountered while touring the country speaking with small firms, with less than 50 employees. We met with a number of Clare businesses during recent SFA meetings in Limerick and Galway. The business owners highlighted the problem and how it was having a negative impact on their ability to expand and do business locally.”

Ms. Callan continued: “Small businesses provide a valuable contribution to the needs of the public sector through innovation, responsiveness and quality in the provision of goods and services which are vital to the public sector and the economy. In addition, by allowing small Irish companies access to this market, it enables them to increase their competitiveness and consequently contribute to job maintenance and growth and the overall economy.”

Following the publication of its survey on Monday, the SFA urged the Government to publish data on the value and volume of contracts awarded to Irish in comparison to overseas companies and by company size.

“The results should be benchmarked internationally, and appropriate targets set for procurers here on SME market share, which should form part of Departmental performance reviews”, concluded Callan.