1725. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total value of non-compliant public procurement identified within his Department and in bodies under the aegis of his Department in 2025 and to date in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57210/26]

My Department ensures that there is an appropriate focus on good procurement practice in the award of all contracts and that procedures are in place to ensure compliance with all relevant guidelines.

In March 2026 my Department provided details of 37 non-competitive procurement contracts totalling €8,773,581 in excess of €25,000 (exclusive of VAT) in the 2025 annual return in respect of circular 40/2002 to the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-finance/circulars/public-procurement-guidelines-revision-of-existing-procedures-for-approval-of-certain-contracts-in-the-central-government-sector/

I can confirm my Department complied with the guidelines with the exception of one contract in excess of €25,000 (exclusive of VAT) totalling €90,754 (exclusive of VAT) for ICT telephony services due to the procurement process being lengthier than anticipated. The contract is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2026. Details from my Department's 40/02 return are below:

To date in 2026, 11 non-competitive contracts have been declared in the Department. All have invoked an exemption from regulation 32 of S.I. No. 284 of 2016 and therefore would not be deemed as non-compliant with the procurement rules.

My Department does not maintain the requested information in respect of the State bodies under its aegis. Arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost effective system to address queries directly to the relevant bodies. These bodies may be contacted directly by e-mail by members of the Oireachtas, as set out in the table below.