2026-07-07

2. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if his Department carried out a risk assessment in advance of publishing a tender to establish a new framework agreement for the provision of Microsoft solution renewals and associated services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51706/26]

The Office of Government Procurement's Microsoft licensing framework expires on 13 September 2026. The estimated value range of the proposed new framework is between €750 million and €1 billion according to a reply the Minister gave me. Has his Department carried out a risk assessment in advance of publishing the tender for this new framework? I ask this at a time when other European countries are moving away from technological dependence on American companies.

The Office of Government Procurement, a division of my Department, acts as a central purchasing body, aggregating the State's purchasing power and establishing framework agreements for a range of commodities, including ICT goods and services. The establishment of a national-level framework is a significant undertaking. OGP framework agreements are established based on public sector bodies' needs and market capabilities and are a key instrument in delivering value for money, promoting SME access to Government contracts as well as incorporating horizontal policy considerations. Since its establishment in 2014, the OGP has gained significant experience in establishing national-level framework agreements. The OGP takes a diligent and disciplined approach to each and every framework, with frameworks taking up to 12 months to put in place. The OGP is supported in its work by key public sector bodies, subject matter experts and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office, CSSO. In each case, the relevant risks, issues, assumptions and dependencies are carefully considered. All framework agreements commence with a pre-market engagement, which informs the market of the OGP’s intentions as well as informing the OGP of the market’s capabilities and developments. Following publication of the tender, the OGP typically receives feedback from interested parties relating to the design of the competition. Such feedback is dealt with on a case-by-case basis, including assessing the potential impact to the tender. In respect of preparing the tender for the framework for the renewal of Microsoft licences, solutions and associated services, the OGP adhered to its standard, detailed and disciplined approach over an eight-month period, including engaging with the market through a structured, extensive and comprehensive pre-market consultation process, which seeks the market’s view with defining the scope, structure and content of the tender.

I thank the Minister of State for the answer. Have alternatives to Microsoft actually been looked at as part of the process? That is what I am asking about it. There are a number of alternatives out there that other European countries and states are moving towards. They are doing so for value-for-money reasons and so they are no longer technologically dependent on the US but can rely on European-regulated services and products. There is LibreOffice, Collabora Online, Open-Xchange, Nextcloud, Thunderbird and openDesk by Germany's Zentrum für Digitale Souveränität der Öffentlichen Verwaltung, ZenDiS, which is a readily assembled government-grade suite. Have any of these been looked at? Are alternatives being examined? They are going for alternatives in other European countries, not just so they are no longer beholden to Trump and what he does - he does not just interfere in terms of red cards but in other areas as well - but also because it is better value for money. They are achieving actual reductions in the cost. Are alternatives being looked at and if so, what alternatives? If not, why has that not been part of the process?

We are reviewing the operation of the existing framework and obtaining relevant input from subject matter experts across the public service to improve the scope, specification and features. We are obtaining relevant market-specific commercial advice from IT market analysts and industry experts, and also obtaining legal advice from the CSSO. As part of the OGP’s governance process, we are conducting a review of the relevant risks, issues, assumptions and dependencies before final approval to publish. The framework is only for the renewal of Microsoft licences. The prerequisite is that public service bodies using the framework must have already procured a Microsoft agreement appropriate to the licences being renewed. Again, interested parties are entitled to query any element of the procurement competition and such queries can arise through a number of channels, including clarification requests, direct correspondence or through the tender advisory service. The OGP considers each case on its own merits and decides on a course of action. In relation to this tender, matters of concern were raised by an interested party. Having carefully considered those matters, the OGP determined it was prudent to cancel the competition and notify the market accordingly.

What I do not understand is why alternatives to Microsoft have not been at least explored as part of this process. The German state of Schleswig-Holstein recently moved 30,000 staff from Microsoft to LibreOffice, Linux, Thunderbird and Open-Xchange. It is saving more than €15 million a year. The senior Minister has just told us we should always be looking for efficiencies and reforms and I agree. Why have they not been looked for in this process? The French police, the Gendarmerie nationale, switched over 100,000 desktops to Linux. They will save roughly €500 million, half a billion, over 15 years. Are these not the efficiencies and reforms that should at least be considered by the Government? The German Federal Chancellery moved to openDesk purely to enhance its digital sovereignty. The Irish Government is leading the Council of the European Union at the moment. We are looking for more European sovereignty, for example with the digital euro, so why are these things not being considered? I am not saying they should be moved en masse overnight but surely the alternatives should be explored in terms of value for money and whether there are better options out there.

The current framework expires in September 2027. Until then, public service bodies can continue to procure renewals of their Microsoft licences in line with the rules governing the existing framework agreement. The OGP's objective is to ensure that it can aggregate the State's expenditure, delivering value for money in all the expenditure categories that it manages. The OGP also remains committed to ensuring that public service bodies have access to a compliant and effective procurement mechanism for Microsoft solution renewals and associated licensing services. All the feedback received has been assessed by the OGP and the intention is to publish a new tender as early as is feasible.

There are millions here that the Government could save.