Procurement Section
The Procurement Section in the Finance Department has a co-ordinating role in ensuring that there is an organisational focus on good practice in purchasing and that procedures are in place to achieve value for money and to ensure high standards of openness, transparency and compliance with all relevant public procurement guidelines and legislation.
Public Procurement can be defined as the acquisition, whether under formal contract or not, of works, supplies and services by public bodies. It ranges from the purchase of routine supplies or services to formal tendering and placing contracts for large infrastructural projects.
It is a basic principle of public procurement that a competitive process should be used unless there are justifiably exceptional circumstances.
Doing Business with Us
We utilise many of the national contracts put in place by the Office of Government Procurement and other central purchasing bodies. We also issue requests for tenders and quotations as business needs require in line with all relevant public procurement Directives, legislation and guidelines. In accordance with Government policy, all contracts above €25,000 for goods and services and above €50,000 for works must be advertised as part of a formal tendering process.
Upcoming tender opportunities are advertised on national public procurement portal www.etenders.gov.ie or on the local government procurement portal www.supplygov.ie. We also use these websites to seek quotations. As we are currently in the process of transitioning to requesting all quotations electronically, written quotations may still be sought on some occasions. Suppliers should visit each of the portal websites to see what is involved in registering for notifications about future contracts. In the event that assistance is required for registering, support is available from the respective help desks: etenders@eu-supply.com or Tel: 021 2439277 and eproc@kerrycoco.ie or Tel: 076 1064020.
Details of contracts awarded by Sligo County Council are also available on the national public procurement portal www.etenders.gov.ie, whilst quarterly reports outlining Purchase Orders for values in excess of €20,000 are published on this website on the Purchasing Activity page.
EU Public Procurement
EU Public Procurement Directives apply to contracts over specified value thresholds stipulated for most categories of works, services and supplies. Further information and up to date thresholds can be checked on the EU public procurement website SIMAP - Information system for European public procurement
The Directives impose legal obligations on public bodies to use objective tendering procedures. It is a legal requirement that contracts with estimated values above the thresholds set out in the Directives are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and that these contracts are awarded in accordance with the provisions of the Directives. Directives 2014/23/EC, 2014/24/EC and 2014/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, are the EU Directives covering procurement procedures of public sector bodies including local authorities.
Office of Government Procurement
The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) is an office within the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform. It has been tasked with centralising public sector procurement arrangements for common goods and services, e.g. Electricity, Professional Services, Stationery, Fuel, ICT, etc. For more information, please visit their website at Office of Government Procurement
Public Spending Code
“The Public Spending Code: Expenditure Planning, Appraisal and Evaluation in the Irish Public Service-Standard Rules and Procedures”, came into effect in September 2013. For specific information about Sligo County Council’s compliance with the Public Spending Code please see Public Spending Code Compliance