72. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total value of non-compliant public procurement identified within her Department and in bodies under the aegis of her Department in 2025 and to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57207/26]

The policy of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is to operate competitive tendering as standard procedure in order to achieve best value for money. Procurement takes place in the context of EU Directive 2014/24 and supported by the Procurement Guidelines published by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) 2023, which set out a range of procedures governing the procurement process from tendering through to the award of contracts. Where possible, the Department makes use of Office of Government Procurement Central Arrangements to meet requirements in accordance with Circular 16/2013.

Instances of non-compliance with the requirements laid out in the public procurement regulations are reported within the Department's annual Appropriation Accounts, including instances where the procurement may be compliant but non-competitive. The Appropriation Accounts 2025 are subject to audit.

In 2025, the Department complied with the procurement regulations with the exception of four contracts totalling €167,662 (exclusive of VAT). Two of these contracts had previously been awarded under a competitive tender process and were extended beyond the original contract date and one contract was incorrectly awarded through an OGP framework due to an administrative error. A further contract was found to be non-compliant with DFAT procurement processes. A competitive process in this case has been completed and the contract is now fully compliant. A competitive tendering process is currently underway for the other three cases referenced above.

Information for 2026 contracts sought by the Deputy is currently not yet available.