Update: Office of Government Procurement
- Establishing an Interim Board to provide Government oversight and leadership for procurement reform across the entire public service. It is chaired by Minister Hayes.
- An Interim Executive has been set up with representatives from all higher spending sectors, working to ensure an effective and comprehensive transition to the new OGP model.
- Establishing Category Councils to determine the most appropriate sourcing strategies for distinct categories of goods and services.
- Full integration of the National Public Procurement Policy Unit into the OGP.
Four senior appointments were announced in November to join the senior management team of the OGP. Two of whom are external appointments and will bring with them significant expertise
- Sourcing Director: Eoin Lonergan will be responsible for the sourcing and spot buying capabilities for the Office of Government Procurement.
- Head of Policy: Vincent Campbell will be responsible for public procurement policy.
- Head of Operations: Kathryn Smith will be responsible for providing operational support for the Office, including business and market intelligence, procurement systems and tender support.
- Head of Corporate Affairs: Brian Brogan of the Office of Government Procurement, including governance, financial, facilities support, and the Office’s input to Department of Public Expenditure and Reform corporate requirements.
In order to achieve savings targets over the next three years, Government has set itself the target of achieving procurement savings in the order of €127 million in 2014. Savings will be accrued through the OGP rolling out new aggregated contracts for common goods and services. These include utilities, professional services and marketing, print and stationery, and account for 60% of the overall public procurement annual spend.
Wednesday, 18 December 2013