The Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has said that small and medium-sized enterprises are losing out on Government contracts due to "red tape" and the complexity of the tendering process.
An online survey carried out by the ISME suggests that approximately 30 per cent of small to medium-sized businesses had considered tendering for public contracts but choose not to, citing difficulties with the tendering process.
Participants in the survey outlined the excessive information required and the bundling of contracts as major factors in abandoning the application process.
Those surveyed also suggested that there was a lack of competition in the area, with a limited number of large-scale and multinational operations being contracted in favour of domestic, small and medium enterprises.
According to the report, released today by the ISME, the general sentiment is that "facilitating the access of SMEs to public tenders, and therefore putting more players on the market, would help to promote fair and effective competition and innovative solutions. This, in turn, would benefit public authorities."
ISME chief executive Mark Fielding said today that "there seems to be a concerted effort across the board to make it as difficult as possible for SMEs to tender for public contracts. The administrative process is bureaucratic and cumbersome, using language that is alien to many owner managers of smaller businesses".