220. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether records are maintained concerning external consultants involved in the design of procurement competitions subsequently won by firms with which those consultants have had a commercial relationship. [75172/26]

My Department does not maintain a central record of external consultants involved in the design of procurement competitions who may subsequently have a commercial relationship with firms that are awarded contracts arising from those competitions.

Individual Accounting Officers are responsible for ensuring that their public procurement functions are discharged in line with the standard accounting and procurement rules and procedures and are accountable for expenditure incurred to deliver maximum value for money for the taxpayer. It is the responsibility of Individual Contracting Authorities to establish arrangements for ensuring the proper conduct of their affairs, including conformance to standards of good governance and accountability with regard to public procurement.

My Department has published the Public Procurement Guidelines for Goods and Services to provide a comprehensive interpretation of the public procurement regulations, S.I. No. 284/2016 - European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016. These guidelines advise that contracting authorities are required to take appropriate measures to prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest in the conduct of a procurement procedure to avoid any distortion of competition and to ensure equal treatment of tenderers. A suite of template tender documents has also been provided, developed in conjunction with the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. These templates explicitly state that any conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest on the part of a tenderer, subcontractor or individual employee(s) or agent(s) of a tenderer or subcontractor(s) must be fully disclosed to the contracting authority as soon as the conflict or potential conflict is or becomes apparent.