On 16 September 2026, Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien received approval from Cabinet to move the MetroLink project to tender stage, where bids will be sought and contractors selected to complete the largest programme of works in the history of the State. The rising estimated costs of building the Metrolink (now between €14.4bn and €17.5bn) serve as a timely reminder of the importance of ensuring efficiency in Government spending as well as the financial opportunities that large-scale projects may offer businesses across Ireland. However, the potential positive impacts of procurement policies and practices go far beyond mere financial benefits, as recognised by the Irish Government in its first ever National Procurement Strategy, published in August 2026.
The National Procurement Strategy sets out (across five core "pillars") the Government's commitment to promoting public procurement as a key policy tool, making it easier to do business with government, and embedding wider sustainability and societal considerations into public procurement practices. All of this aligns with the direction of travel in EU procurement policy which aims to use procurement to advance specific social, economic and environmental objectives. As noted in our recent update here.
1. Investing in our enterprise base
The Strategy recognises the important role of SMEs and social enterprises in providing high‑quality goods and services, strengthening local economies, helping to deliver social policy goals and contributing to a more diverse and resilient enterprise base. The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) will collaborate on pathways to increase the participation of social enterprises. For example, they will use eTenders data to measure SME participation, identify low competition sectors and take steps to promote greater supplier participation, for example by encouraging bids from consortia.
2. Procuring for our future
The Strategy aims to support a "greener, more socially inclusive and prosperous future" by embedding sustainability, innovation and resilience considerations into procurement policy and practice. The below examples demonstrate how such policy objectives may be achieved through targeted procurement practices.
- The Covid-19 pandemic as well as recent geopolitical events have highlighted the need to develop the public sector's resilience and ability to respond to future crises. The Strategy positions public procurement as a strategic tool to further this policy goal, for example, by requiring Government Departments and public bodies to integrate risk management into their Corporate Procurement Plans.
- The Strategy aims to drive delivery of national sustainability goals through the promotion of green and socially responsible public procurement practices. For example, a new reporting tool will assess the climate impact of Government-funded projects, which will support more sustainable decision-making. In addition, the National Disability Authority and the OGP will collaborate to enhance public buyers’ awareness and understanding of their legal responsibilities to incorporate accessibility requirements into their procurements.
- While traditional procurement focuses on buying established products or goods with fixed specifications, 'innovation procurement' broadens the scope to include solutions requiring research and development. Under the Strategy, the OGP will set up a working group to promote a culture of innovation and encourage knowledge sharing across the public sector.
3. Safeguarding public trust
The Strategy aims to maintain public trust by enhancing the transparency and legal certainty of the public procurement system and ensuring that public funds are spent in an efficient and responsible manner. The OGP will develop a publicly accessible data analytics website (the Public Procurement Data Space) to provide a consolidated overview of public procurement activity across the public sector and allow for public scrutiny of same. It will also develop a Data Management Plan to improve the quality and utility of tender data.
4. Building capability
Under the Strategy, the Government will equip buyers with the necessary tools to drive "transformative change" in public procurement practices. Actions specified under this pillar include the OGP's development of an eLearning module to deliver procurement basics, and its hosting of a public buyer conference every two years. A National Public Procurement Knowledge Hub will also be established as a central resource to support the public sector in implementing the Strategy.
5. Managing complexity
The Government will strategically engage with the European Commission during a period of revision and modernisation of the EU's public procurement framework. The timing of the publication of Ireland's National Strategy – just prior to the publication of the Commission's draft proposal for a new EU Procurement Regulation on 9 September 2026 – demonstrates that public procurement in Ireland is evolving in tandem with EU developments. The EU proposal aims to replace three existing procurement Directives with one directly-applicable EU Regulation and places emphasis on the simplification and flexibility of processes.
The National Procurement Strategy is viewed as a positive and innovative step forward in encouraging public buyers to look beyond the lowest price and take into account Ireland’s strategic interests as well as wider societal, economic and environmental impacts.
A dedicated Implementation Group will be established for the purposes of monitoring the implementation of the Strategy. The group, which will meet on a quarterly basis, will be made up of members of the Procurement Policy Working Group, Central Purchasing Bodies, representatives from the semi-state sector and government departments and agencies. The Implementation Group will report into the Public Procurement Advisory Council, which is chaired by the Minister of State with special responsibility for public procurement.
The Strategy has a broad range of KPIs to track its implementation in terms of inputs, outputs and outcomes. A mid-term review will be undertaken in 2028. Objectives and actions may be amended or supplemented at the mid-term review stage to reflect any emerging regulatory or policy developments at EU and national level. KPIs will also be reviewed to ensure relevance and continued alignment with these developments, and to maintain a meaningful framework for measuring progress for the remainder of the Strategy period.
For more information, please contact Peter Curran, Brónagh Carvill, Pat McInerney, Aine Smith, or your usual contact in Beauchamps. With many thanks to Dylan Murphy for his contribution.