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From:Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation

The Government has today published a landmark strategy to make the public procurement process more transparent and ensure greater participation from small-to- medium sized enterprises.

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers and Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement, Digitalisation and eGovernment, Frank Feighan have published Procuring for our Future: National Public Procurement Strategy 2026–2030, which is Ireland’s first National Public Procurement Strategy. The new Strategy establishes a shared vision, values and objectives for the public procurement system which plays a critical role in delivering public services and critical infrastructure, providing a framework for public procurement across the State over the next five years.

Informed by extensive public consultation with stakeholders, the Strategy focuses on three critical outcomes:

At the heart of this Strategy is a vision to deliver strategic, innovative, sustainable and transparent public procurement that supports SMEs, competition, and better public services.

While the Strategy seeks to harness the collective spending power of the State to generate positive economic, social and environmental outcomes, it does so within the context of sound expenditure management and value for money. It places a strong emphasis on disciplined, evidence-based procurement, ensuring that procurement decisions are justified, expenditure is effectively controlled and public funds deliver the best possible value for money.

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers said:

“This Strategy represents a significant step towards realising this Government’s ambition to harness the spending power of the State as a strategic investment mechanism, delivering value for money and supporting enterprise growth in order to ensure better outcomes for our people, our economy and our environment.

This Strategy marks the beginning of a wider programme of procurement transformation. I have updated Government on plans to increase visibility of public procurement expenditure, an important step towards a transparent public procurement system that earns and maintains public trust through efficient and responsible public spending. I also intend to update Government on plans to ensure greater centralisation in due course, enabling the State to make better use of its collective purchasing power to achieve best possible value for money.

Delivery of the Strategy will require a whole of Government effort and I look forward to working with colleagues across Government as we look to realise our shared vision of strategic, innovative, sustainable and transparent public procurement that supports SMEs, competition, and better public services.”

Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement, Digitalisation and eGovernment, Frank Feighansaid:

“Procuring for our future”marks the beginning of a new chapter for public procurement in Ireland by setting the strategic direction for the next five years.

Each day, small and micro businesses are competing for and winning public contracts. More than four in every five contracts awarded last year went to SMEs. While this demonstrates the important role SMEs already play in public procurement, I want to build on this momentum.

The voices of Irish businesses have helped shape this Strategy, and I look forward to continuing that engagement as we work together to implement its ambitious programme of reform.

The Strategy also recognises the important role public procurement can play in promoting social inclusion. While value for money remains paramount, public procurement can also contribute to wider societal benefit by promoting, for example, accessibility, skills development, greater participation by social enterprises and workforce participation among people with disabilities.

I look forward to working with colleagues across Government, the public sector and the supplier community to realise the full potential of public procurement as a force for economic growth, social progress and better public services.”

The Strategy can be found at the following link:Procuring for Our Future: National Public Procurement Strategy 2026 - 2030