Questions

424. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether his Department has noticed a decrease in the number of contractor firms (engineers, architects, surveyors) bidding for public contracts in each of the years 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15030/26]

425. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether his Department is aware of contractor firms (engineers, architects, surveyors) capping the amount of public work they bid for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15031/26]

426. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether his Department is examining the use of “last man standing” clauses and “1%” clauses in public contracts; and if any assessment been done regarding how these clauses in public contracts are a disincentive to contract firms (engineers, architects, surveyors) bidding for public contrac…

24. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether he has considered the approach set out in the UK’s recent Guidance on Contract Payment Information, which requires contracting authorities to publish contract payment information that links individual payments to the specific public contracts under which those costs were incurred (detail…

87. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation further to the launch of the National Development Finance Agency’s new centralised expert assistance service for major capital projects under Action 24 of the ‘Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan’, whether his Department considers the absence of a unique, universal supplier identi…

441. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the oversight mechanisms in place within his Department to ensure that public procurement processes are protected from bid-rigging and cartel behaviour; whether any red-flag or data-screening systems are used across State procurement frameworks; and if he will provide details of same. [9323/26]

442. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether the Office of Government Procurement has issued guidance, training, or mandatory protocols to contracting authorities on identifying and responding to suspected cartel or collusive bidding behaviour; the date of the most recent guidance issued; and the level of compliance across Departme…

443. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether his Department maintains or has access to centralised data on bidding patterns for large State contracts across sectors; whether such data is analysed for indicators of anti-competitive behaviour; and if he will outline any plans to strengthen data-driven oversight in this area. [9325/26…

444. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether his Department has considered the fiscal risk posed to the Exchequer by cartel activity and bid-rigging in public procurement; whether this risk is reflected in any expenditure control, value-for-money, or public spending review processes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. […

8. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the position regarding the national public procurement strategy review and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69083/25]

16. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he monitors external contracts within Government departments for value for money. [69852/25]

49. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the plans and strategies to ensure value for money and fit for purpose procurement framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70257/25]

380. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if his Department has assessed whether the absence of centralised reporting on contract variations represents a governance or accountability gap in public procurement; and if he will consider introducing requirements for contracting authorities to record, publish, and centrally report details o…

381. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if his Department will consider mandating the use of contract management systems across all public bodies to ensure contract variations are systematically recorded and monitored; and when such a policy will be implemented. [63051/25]

395. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if his Department maintains any centralised data on the number, value, or type of post-award contract variations approved by contracting authorities across the public service in each of the past five years; and if not, whether contracting authorities are required to report such variations to th…

396. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if his Department has ever conducted analysis of post-award contract variations to identify trends, such as which categories of procurement, by CPV code or sector; and those most prone to variations, or which types of projects carry the greatest risk of scope change or cost escalation. [60933/2…

397. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number and value of contracts that underwent post-award variations; the net value change as a percentage of original awards, by CPV/category; and the three most common drivers of variation identified, for 2022–2024. [60947/25]

415. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if any measures of optimism bias compensation are applied in decisions around the awarding of public sector contracts particularly with regard to time and budgets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61612/25]

7. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the way in which the incorrectly spelled new sign outside his Department came to be put in place; the total cost of the sign; the estimated cost for the removal and a replacement sign; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60171/25]

36. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will consider establishing a unified and modern framework to close the transparency loop in public procurement, linking tenders, contract awards, purchase orders and payments in a single, machine-readable, publicly accessible system, in order that the full cycle from tender to payment to p…

537. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he is aware of instances where suppliers increase prices on the basis that the purchaser is a public authority or State body; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58430/25]

538. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if instances where suppliers increase prices on the basis that the purchaser is a public authority or State body and are occurring, if there is data or audit evidence national or sectoral documenting the scale and financial impact of those price uplifts on public procurement over the past fiv…

539. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the provisions in the spending code there are and in the Office of Government Procurement guidance to prevent price inflation that may arise solely from a supplier knowing that the purchaser is a public authority or State body; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58432/25]

374. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 353, 354 and 356 of 17 September 2025, the specific statutory or administrative actor who is responsible for monitoring and evidencing compliance with Circular 05/2023 across the public service; and if his Department considers that responsibility rests wit…

375. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation further to his reply that his Department ‘has no role in monitoring compliance’ to set out whether the eTenders platform currently captures sufficient data to produce central compliance statistics for Circular 05/2023 (e.g. counts of advertisements at/above €50,000 for goods/services, €200,000 …