Emer Higgins is the Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement, Digitalisation and eGovernment. She was elected TD for Dublin Mid West at the 2020 General Election and successfully re-elected in 2024. Emer previously served as Minister with responsibility for Business, Employment and Retail.

In her capacity as a Minister in the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Delivery and Digitalisation, Emer is committed to making public procurement more transparent and easier for SMEs to access, and to making more public services available online.

During her time as Minister in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Emer chaired the Retail Forum and Labour Economic Employment Activity Forum Sub-group and was responsible for bodies including the Health and Safety Authority, Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court.

As a backbench TD, Emer introduced the Irish Corporate Governance (Gender Balance) Bill, which aims to ensure Irish companies achieve significant gender balance on their boards, fostering a more inclusive business environment.

Prior to her election as a TD, Emer served as Councillor in South Dublin County Council for 9 years.

Emer is a strong advocate for women in education and business and her work across various Oireachtas Committees; Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Disability Matters, Public Petitions, and Special Committees; Assisted Dying and International Surrogacy, reflects her wide-ranging commitment to equality.

Previously, Minister Higgins worked as Chief of Staff for PayPal’s Customer Service division in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and now uses her national voice to bring over a decade of corporate expertise to her Government Department.

Anne Stewart is Assistant Secretary for Public Procurement Policy, Service Delivery & Digitalisation at the Office of Government Procurement (OGP). She leads the development of government procurement policy, client service delivery, and digital transformation, ensuring public procurement is efficient, transparent, and aligned with strategic priorities. Anne’s work focuses on policy development, stakeholder engagement, and digital innovation, integrating key areas such as climate action, SME access, and responsible business practices to drive better procurement outcomes.

Sharon has been involved in public procurement since November 2001 and has been the Head of Construction and Procurement Delivery for the NI Civil Service since 2021. In her current role, Sharon has responsibility for helping the NI Executive procure the goods, services and works needed to deliver public services and develop public procurement policy which underpins procurement practice in Northern Ireland.

Sharon is an advocate for the professionalism of public procurement and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply. She was awarded a CBE in the 2025 New Years Honours List for her services to public procurement and has commented that the Honour reflects the work carried out by the NI Public Sector procurement profession particularly during the supply chain disruptions over the last 5 years.

Siobhan Dunphy is the Assistant National Director of Strategic Sourcing and Contracting for Procurement within the Health Service Executive (HSE). The HSE provides all of Ireland's public health services in hospitals and communities across the country and is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the State. With over 30 years of experience in the Health Sector, Siobhan has worked across both community and acute hospital services and is leading an ambitious programme of work for HSE Procurement with a €5.2bn annual spend.

Siobhan was previously responsible for managing a multi-million euro portfolio of expenditure incorporating Facilities Management across the Irish Health Sector. Having a keen interest in change management and transformation, she progressed change across a range of function areas including introducing new technologies and the integration of business functions following the rationalisation of activities in the Health Sector. She was also responsible for developing the model to implement “One Voice” for the health strategy, designed to reduce costs and achieve better value for money while maintaining excellent service for the public sector.

A firm advocate for digital innovation Siobhan set up and implemented a new portfolio of Digital Health and Innovation within Strategic Sourcing and Contracting, as part of the suite of portfolios for HSE-led categories, signifying the importance of driving digital transformation within the HSE. She also holds a strong passion for sustainability and is committed to promoting environmentally responsible practices in procurement processes. Siobhan places significant value on the power of collaboration and fosters strong partnerships with internal and external stakeholders such as engagement with suppliers, trade organisations and HSE funded agencies.

As Assistant National Director within HSE Procurement, Siobhan is part of the Procurement Leadership Team. She is committed to enhancing procurement services, delivering greater value for money, driving improved compliance with procurement regulations and enhancing the ongoing transformation of the health service to support the successful realisation of the Sláintecare vision.

Dr. Paul is an Associate Professor at Dublin City University Business School. He specialises in supply chain management and procurement, with a passion for shaping the future of these fields through education, research, and leadership. He has the privilege of chairing both the Masters in Business Management and the Masters in Strategic Management programs, where he guides emerging business leaders toward innovative thinking and strategic excellence.

In addition to his academic role, he is the Founder of Nephin Whiskey Distillery in Lahardaun, County Mayo, where he combined his entrepreneurial drive with a deep understanding of strategic supply chain management. This venture reflects his belief in the power of local enterprise and sustainable business practices.

He is dedicated to advancing the procurement profession in Ireland, focusing on education, professional development, and training. He actively participates in research initiatives that explore topics like public-private partnerships, innovation in public procurement, and the transformative impact of technology on procurement processes. His consulting services cover a wide range of areas, including procurement strategy, public procurement, and sustainable supply chain management, where he helps organisations build resilient and future-ready operations.

He has published several books on sustainability, supply chain, and procurement, which are available on his Amazon author page.

At the core of his professional philosophy is the belief that true progress is driven not by those who adapt to the world as it is, but by those who challenge the status quo and push boundaries. Through his work in education, research, and business, he strives to be part of that progress.

Linda O’Hare is Assistant Director – Procurement, at Business Services Organisation (BSO), Procurement and Logistics Service (PaLS), in Northern Ireland (NI). PaLS is the sole provider of professional procurement and logistics services to all Health and Social Care (HSC) organisations in NI. BSO PaLS manages £1.3bn of expenditure per annum, has circa 420 staff, with procurement offices and warehouses situated across NI. BSO PaLS manages procurements and contracts across all categories of goods and services - clinical, non-clinical, social care and ICT. Linda has 23 years Public Procurement experience, in the Health Services in both Ireland and NI. Prior to this she headed up the purchasing department in the 5-star Merrion Hotel in Dublin, and in her early career held a number of management roles in the hospitality industry. In her spare time, Linda takes long walks in the countryside, spends time with family and friends and likes to travel extensively.

Philip has a successful track record of achievement as a leader and senior manager in the public and private sector. In 2013 he was appointed to the OGP executive as head of sourcing education with responsibility for implementing and operating the centralised procurement model within the new DES sector sourcing hub, EPS.

Within the Education Sector, Philip is responsible for sourcing a procurement spend of approximately €900m annually. In his role as director of EPS, he has established and developed a business model and change management strategy to on-board the model and has delivered savings of over €13m to date.

Procurement Consultant and Trainer – Jeanne is passionate about promoting the role of procurement in the public and utility sectors throughout the EU. Having successfully established a consulting and training business with a reputation for getting the job done, she is now focused on growing the Greenville brand and range of services to meet the current challenges facing the market including reduced supplier bases, growing costs, Brexit and effective contract management, all of which will doubtless have a major impact on Irish society in the years ahead.

An Post's procurement team aims to maximise the significant buying power of the group to attract competition and to be viewed as a customer of choice. We are committed to fostering innovation, eliminating process waste, reducing total cost, and delivering maximum value to our customers.

The Irish Prison Service expenditure on non-pay items including suppliers, works and services amounts to approximately €98 million per annum.

This expenditure extends across a diverse range of products that include highly complex building projects, security equipment, medicines, victualling, uniforms, professional services and ICT.

Tenders for Irish Government contracts, including those for the Irish Prison Service, are advertised through the Irish Government Tenders Website.

TEKenable are Experts in Rapid Digital Transformation through Low Code Platforms, Data and AI. We are a technology company delivering the latest innovative business solutions to forward-thinking public and private enterprises in Ireland, the UK, Europe and the Middle East. TEKenable helps you maximise revenue, reduce costs, and empower your employees to bring results faster using rapid digital transformation services.

Established in Dublin, Ireland, TEKenable has evolved into a robust IT company and achieved noteworthy global expansion and success since its inception in 2002.

Procurement in Dublin City Council is largely a devolved function, where individual departments are responsible for ensuring their sourcing requirements are met, while operating to best procurement practice and compliance with relevant legislative, regulatory and policy requirements.

The Dublin City Council Corporate Procurement Plan sets out the strategic, organisational and operational objectives, which are necessary in achieving a more focused value for money approach to procurement. The Plan contains a series of actions in areas such as procurement governance, processes, planning, monitoring, organisational capacity and stakeholder management.

The OGP is an office of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and plays a leading role in public service reform through the delivery of the Public Procurement Reform Programme. We maintain the national public procurement policy framework and represent Ireland in developing EU and international public procurement policy. We are strengthening the analysis of public sector spending and data management.

As a Central Purchasing Body we work to provide high quality, open, competitive, compliant and accessible public procurement solutions for the public service by:

• developing and maintaining Framework Agreements
• running mini-competitions under our Framework Agreements, and
• providing bespoke solutions for non-standard purchasing requirements

Kevin Logan is a procurement professional with 25 years of experience across Health, Local Government, and Social Housing, For the last 12 years, he has focused on procurement in the social housing sector, ensuring value for money and the development of sustainable Procurement.

Currently Assistant Director of Procurement at the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE), Kevin helps shape procurement strategies that put social value at the heart of their delivery models.

Previously, while at Clanmil Housing, he played a key role in winning the Inaugural Procurex Ireland Go Award for Sustainable Procurement, highlighting his commitment to Social Value, responsible and ethical procurement.

The Business Services Organisation has been established to provide a broad range of regional business support functions and specialist professional services to the health and social care sector in Northern Ireland. There are a wide range of reasons why you might have visited this website but we have identified frequent reasons why people do and have created various pages and links to other related websites that you may wish to use.

Michael is experienced in managing and supervising client projects using his unique practical style to deliver client results of the highest quality in all areas of procurement. He is a key member of the Greenville training group with well-honed expertise and skills in the development and delivery of training to public sector clients at all stages of their procurement journey. Fully recognised for his warm personality and gentle approach which belies his considerable breadth of experience he is now playing his part in expanding our training business to great success.

InterTradeIreland helps small businesses capitalise on the extraordinary possibilities that exist right here on the island of Ireland, where cross-border trade exceeds £2bn/€2.8bn annually.

To date, we have helped more than 39,000 companies with cross-border information and business services and over 8,000 SMEs have participated on our trade and innovation programmes. As a result, in excess of £1bn worth of business value been generated. In addition, over 14,100 jobs have been created or sustained through our programmes.

Chris is the CEO of the Irish Social Enterprise Network (Socent.ie), Managing Partner of Collaboration Ireland and a Teaching Fellow of Trinity Business School. Chris also volunteers as Chair of Far and Wild social enterprise and is President of the Irish US Alumni Association. Chris is a former Country Partner for the BCorp community in Ireland and the former Director of Social Enterprise NI.

Chris’ work focuses on leading and managing European and nationwide projects on Social Enterprise, Social Entrepreneurship, Corporate Responsibility, Social Impact, Startups, Cooperatives, Exporting, SMEs in Ireland and leading a life of passion and purpose.

Phil has over a decade of experience consulting industry trade associations and multinational organisations to drive industry-wide collaboration and the adoption of technology standards throughout global supply chains. He is currently responsible for growing Pagero's global presence by sourcing and enabling interoperability partnerships with other technology platforms.

Pagero is a powerful, open business network, enabling companies to connect to their global trading communities, via a single connection – delivering huge benefits to buyers and suppliers around the world in terms of supply chain automation, data accuracy and regulatory compliance.

Anthony O'Dea is Commercial Director of GreenIT. With over two decades of experience in the WEEE and IT Refurbishment industry, Anthony has played a pivotal role in GreenIT's mission to reduce electronic waste through meticulous refurbishment processes. His efforts have ensured that the company provides affordable, high-quality remanufactured & refurbished IT equipment, benefiting the public sector, schools, charities, businesses, and individuals across Ireland.

Under Anthony's guidance, GreenIT has formed key partnerships with institutions like the University of Limerick and the Environmental Protection Agency to advance the reuse agenda. Notable projects include TriREUSE and the Mainstreaming Circular Economies Through Collaboration and Co-Creation (MainCirc) project. These initiatives aim to promote the reuse of laptops, tablets, and smartphones, further emphasizing GreenIT's dedication to a circular economy.

Colin took on the position of Chief Executive at Social Enterprise NI in June 2016 having spent 38 years working across local financial institutions. During his time mainly in Ulster Bank, Colin was a member of the senior management team within Business Banking. In the Bank Colin lead the Banks interaction and relationship with key stakeholders across, social enterprise, charity and voluntary sectors, as well as engaging with the Public Sector.

Colin is currently a Council Member of NI Chamber of Commerce and in December 2020 was appointed to the reconstituted Procurement Board to represent the social enterprise sector. He is passionate about the benefits of social value in procurement. Colin also sits on the High Street Taskforce Forum as well as the Belfast City Councils, Growing the Economy & City Development Board. He is an Ambassador for local charity Start360 and a member of The Resurgam Trust Advisory Panel. He is formerly Chair of the Finance and Governance Committee of Women in Business.

Francesca joined Greenville as a Procurement Consultant having previously worked on sustainable public procurement policy with an international organisation based in Germany. She holds a master’s degree in International, European and Comparative Law, from the University of Trento. In Italy she also completed her legal traineeship, specialising in Administrative Law and Public Procurement. Following on from that, she conducted a traineeship on procurement at the European Investment Bank within the Energy Department of the Projects Directorate. Since September 2021 she is an LLM candidate in Public Procurement Law and Policy at the University of Nottingham (UK).

Steve is at the helm of pioneering sustainable technology in laptop remanufacturing. With a staunch belief in the circular economy's role in achieving a decarbonised future, Steve prioritises remanufacturing as a key to sustainability. His experience spans leading innovative projects and driving positive change within the industry, always with a focus on reducing environmental impact.

As an advisor to International and Local Governments, Steve's advocacy for sustainable practices extends beyond Circular Computing. He's committed to advancing sustainability, the circular economy, and social values, leveraging his expertise to foster collaborative efforts towards these goals.

The Office of Government Procurement commenced sourcing operations in 2014 and, together with four key sectors (Health, Local Government, Education and Defence), has taken responsibility for sourcing all goods and services on behalf of the public service. These operations are putting in place framework agreements and contracts so that public bodies can buy goods and services. In addition, the Office of Government Procurement has responsibility for procurement policy and procedures, sourcing systems and data analytics.

Phillip is a Senior Associate Consultant with Greenville Procurement Partners since 2023, informing and advising public procurement professionals.

Prior to joining Greenville, Phillip worked in the Public Sector for 5 years managing the Digitalisation Programme in the Injuries Resolution Board (formally Personal Injuries Assessment Board) and managing the Student Information System Implementation Programme in Dublin City University. Before joining DCU, Phillip worked in Bank of Ireland for 30 years in a number senior technology, risk assurance and digital operations roles

Maria is responsible for managing the sourcing and day to day activities of the team within the EPS portfolio. She also works closely with the EPS Director on managing strategic and bespoke procurements for education.

William Bell is a MMC Project Manager and Senior Quantity Surveyor within the Built Environment Section of the Housing Agency, with responsibilities to provide support to Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies considering MMC. William previously worked in the private sector for a number of years both as a Consultant Quantity Surveyor and also in construction as a Senior Quantity Surveyor, Contracts Manager and Commercial Manager. He has experience on a wide variety of projects across the Housing, Commercial, Educational and Healthcare sectors. He has also tendered works using several different procurement routes including Design and Build, Term Service, Negotiated and Target Cost for both private and public sector clients.

Joseph is Deputy Director in the Cartels Division of the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), where he heads up the Immunity/Leniency and Case Stream Section.
Joseph holds a Masters in Law and has almost 30 years legal experience, having been admitted as an Attorney (Solicitor) in South Africa and specialising in Competition Law, at first with the Competition Commission of South Africa (2003-2007) and then with the CCPC (and its predecessor the Competition Authority) since 2008, where he has served in the Criminal Enforcement, Strategy, Mergers, and Cartels Divisions.

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Sarah joined CLES in December 2024. She previously worked for Cwmpas where she led the development of the consultancy activities, in the fields of local economic development, social value, social care and learning and development. Sarah previously worked within local government, as well as academia, where she led European social enterprise development projects in topics such as the internationalisation of social enterprise and the role of minority ethnic women in the social business sector. Sarah holds a PhD in local government management from the University of Wales.

James McConville is an architect with a passion for the built and natural environment. James strives to bring a cross-disciplinary approach to his work and has over a decade of experience of public and private projects both nationally and internationally. He was inspired to co-found ACT as a way to help redefine the role of the architect in the era of the Green Transition.