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- Government Department reporting on 2020 procurement shows that there was a low level of inclusion of green criteria in Public Procurement.
- This represents an opportunity to significantly increase the public spend on goods and services that include green criteria. The EPA will work with Government Departments to progress this work in 2022 and beyond.
- Many Government Departments are currently working to address this by including green criteria in their procurement processes.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its first report on the use of Green Public Procurement by Government Departments. Under the Climate Action Plan, lead responsibility was assigned to the EPA to report on Government Department Green Public Procurement (GPP) activity annually, starting in 2020.
In response, the EPA has compiled the first report on GPP activity by Government Departments.
The report – which is for 2020 – shows that, of the total reported spend of over €322 million on contracts over €25,000, only 17% (approximately €53 million) included green criteria.
The reported spend is for Government Department contracts only, and excludes agencies affiliated to those Government Departments. The priority sectors for reporting by Government Departments were: Transport, Construction, Energy, Food and Catering Services, Cleaning Products and Services, Textiles IT Equipment and Paper.
Launching the report Ms Laura Burke, (EPA Director General), said:
“The purchasing power of Ireland’s government sector has significant potential to reduce emissions and protect our environment while saving money over the full lifecycle of goods and services.
Government commitment to green purchasing sends a powerful signal to the market that the Government requires goods, services and works that make the most positive contribution to our environment and can save money over their full lifecycle. It promotes innovation in the marketplace for goods and services with a reduced environmental impact.
The low level of implementation of Green Public Procurement reported by Government Departments is a missed opportunity to purchase more resource-efficient, less polluting goods, services and works within the marketplace.”
The report sets out recommendations for Government Departments to ensure that they will be able to meet the 2023 requirement in the Programme for Government ‘Our Shared Future’ that all procurement using public funds will need to include green criteria.
The report ‘Green Public Procurement: Monitoring and Reporting by Government Departments, 2020 Reference Year’ is now available on the EPA website and presents an overview of the monitoring and reporting requirements of GPP in Government Departments, the process used to collate data, a summary of the findings and recommendations.
The report shows some progress by Departments in actively working to include Green Public Procurement in their processes, as reported in their 2020 Annual Reports.
However, further work is needed to improve the use of and reporting of Green Public Procurement in 2022 and beyond. The EPA will work directly with Government Departments and other stakeholders, including the Office of Government Procurement, to share learnings and recommendations and to support training requirements to ensure the progression of this work. Both guidance and training for the public sector on Green Public Procurement are available from the EPA.
For Further Information Contact: Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office, Tel: 053-9170770 (24 hours) or email media@epa.ie.
  
One of Ireland’s most widespread garden birds, the Jackdaw (Name in Irish – Cág), is a small dark grey crow with a lighter nape and neck side, which clearly contrasts with a blackish forehead. These birds have very sturdy legs and strong beaks; are highly intelligent and in nature are social, both foraging and roosting with other bird life.
Measuring 34–39 centimetres (13–15 in) in length, Jackdaws forage in large flocks during the winter months, most often in the company of other species of crows.
The common name for the Jackdaw comes from two separate words: ‘Jack’ meaning “rogue” as it is a well-known, they steal shiny objects in particular, and ‘daw’, which is an imitation of their vocal call.
Jackdaws feed on a wide variety of foods includes small vertebrates, carrion, other birds eggs given the opportunity, fruit, seeds and food scraps. Their nesting areas include abandoned ruins, coastal cliffs, chimneys and woodlands, where they build simple nests of sticks.
Mr Jack Daw, pictured above, however, has obviously got wind of the soft and resilient body moulding, memory, foam mattress. With that knowledge he spent some time, today, tearing to shreds, a sheet of tissue paper. No doubt attempting to ensure that wife would have no sharp twigs sticking into her undercarriage.
Note also, in this particular case the bird has unusual grey feather markings. Possibly he is the son of another Jackdaw, who sadly died last year, and who had also displayed quite an array of grey feathers.
The Belfast Crown Court has ordered the BBC to hand over broadcast and withheld or withdrawn material, to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), from their documentary series about the Northern Ireland Troubles, first broadcast back in 2019.
The material is expected to includes interviews with Rev. Fr. Patrick Ryan, latter a Roman Catholic priest, who told the programme he had maintained a network of Europe-wide contacts, same used to generate arms and money for the IRA.
The priest in question, Fr. Patrick (Paddy) Ryan, now in his 92nd year, was born on June 26th, 1930, in Rossmore, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, one of six children born to a rural farming family.
Fr. Ryan had shown no great interest in politics beyond a hatred for past and present British rule on the island of Ireland; however the Roman Catholic Church and the Pallottine Order would formally suspend him from priestly duties, after he refused a transfer to a Parish Church in England.
Later on, during a trip to Rome in the summer of that same year, he is reported to have informed Italian priests that he hoped that the IRA would bomb the centre of London.
By the Autumn of 1973, he was shuttling back and forth between Dublin and Geneva, opening bank accounts and transferring funding (over £1,000,000) reportedly, granted by his newly acquired contacts within Libyan Military Intelligence in Tripoli.
You can find the full story HERE.
A PSNI lawyer told the court that there were reasonable grounds to believe that same material, currently the property of the BBC was likely to be of use in future terrorist investigations.
Keeping in mind the need to protect the public from terrorist activity; Mr Justice Neil Rafferty presiding in Belfast Crown Court, granted the order allowing the PSNI to access the gathered material.
The Department of Health, here in the Republic Of Ireland, has confirmed 7,005 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. Same number includes, including 3,150 PCR-confirmed cases of the virus and 3,855 positive antigen tests, latter registered through the HSE portal.
This morning, there were 1,251 people in the Republic’s hospitals around the country, down 82 on the same time yesterday.
As of this morning, there were 56 infected people in our Republic’s ICUs, infected with the virus, latter a decrease of 2 on yesterday.
The total number of Covid-19-related deaths, since the start of the pandemic, here in the Irish Republic, now stands at 6,824 as of yesterday.
In Northern Ireland today, a further 1,133 cases of coronavirus were reported today, down from the 1,155 cases reported yesterday.
Today, also, 479 people with Covid-19 were in northern hospitals, down from the 519 reported yesterday.
Sadly, 5 new Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported in Northern Ireland today, bringing the total number of deaths linked to Covid-19, since the start of the pandemic to 3,353.
It was with a great sadness that we learned of the death today, Thursday 7th April 2022, of Mr John Oliver Campion, Moyne, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
Pre-deceased by his wife Maria (nee Bowe), brothers Dan and Christy; Mr Campion passed away peacefully, while in the care of staff at Tipperary University Hospital, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
His passing is most deeply regretted by his children, Katherine, Phil, Conor and Bernadine, brother Paddy, sons-in-law Tim O’Leary, and James Scanlan, daughters-in-law Mary Bowe and Lynn Campion, grandchildren, Julie, Diarmuid, Philip, Colm, Aoife, Conor, Áine, Anna, Cathy, Marie, Jack, and Kate, and great grandson Ricky, sisters-in-law Carmel and Gretta, brother-in-law Colman, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends.
Requiescat in Pace.
Funeral Arrangements.
The earthly remains of Mr Campion will repose for Requiem Mass in St. Mary’s Church, Moyne, Thurles on Saturday, April 9th, at 12:00 noon, followed by interment immediately afterwards in the adjoining graveyard.
[NB: Due to Public Health Guidelines, regarding C-19 virus restrictions; those attending Requiem Mass will continue to observe strict adherence to social distancing, face covering, with no hand shaking.]
The extended Campion family wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
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