RIAI welcomes Quality in Public Procurement  Bill 2021 - Second Stage

It is encouraging to see the reform of public procurement being debated within the Dáil, with the ‘Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021 at Second Stage’ on 12 February. 

The RIAI has recently published its policy document, Beyond the Lowest Bid, which advocates for a strategic departure from the current ‘Most Economically Advantageous Tender’ (MEAT) model, in favour of a ‘Most Advantageous Tender’ (MAT) framework.

By proposing a standard weighting of 80% quality and 20% cost, the RIAI aims to prioritise long-term value and design excellence over the race to the bottom that epitomises low-cost fee bidding. These reforms, which include streamlining eligibility through ‘Procurement Passports’ and adopting fairer risk-sharing measures such as liability caps, are essential to mitigate the project delays and rising litigation costs that currently hamstring major infrastructure developments.