National Public Procurement Strategy 2026 - 2030 Published
The Government has published Procuring for our future: National Public Procurement Strategy 2026 - 2030, marking a major policy milestone for Ireland’s small business sector. Public procurement represents a €29.5 billion annual market, yet administrative complexity and tendering costs have historically kept many small suppliers from competing for state contracts.
The SFA was involved in the consultation process to ensure the realities of running a small enterprise were directly reflected in the final plan. Through our active representation on the OGP SME Advisory Group and ongoing dialogue with Minister of State Frank Feighan TD, we consistently highlighted key operational obstacles, including regulatory compliance burdens, tendering costs, and financial liquidity limits.
The published strategy strongly aligns with the core recommendations submitted by the SFA:
- Mandatory SME Action Plans: Public sector bodies must now outline explicit steps to promote SME participation within their Corporate Procurement Plans (Action A1.1).
- Consortium Bidding Supports: The State will actively promote consortium bidding (Action A1.11), helping small firms pool resources and scale to compete for larger tenders.
- Tender Advisory Service Review: A full review of the Tender Advisory Service (Action A3.3) will enhance informal grievance resolution for small suppliers.
- Digital Simplification: User-journey mapping (Action A5.7) and user-centric eTenders platform upgrades (Action A5.8) will streamline tender paperwork.
- Early Market Engagement: Dedicated buyer supports will foster preliminary market dialogue (Action A1.10), giving small suppliers early visibility of upcoming opportunities.
The SFA will continue to push for further reforms - such as raising national tender advertising thresholds - this strategy represents real progress. The SFA will participate actively in oversight structures to ensure these commitments deliver meaningful results for your business.
