The Irish School Art Supply Federation was formed following a meeting of School Suppliers in Athlone on the 17th of January 2013.
The meeting was called to address the very real threat to our businesses posed by current Public Procurement practices which are weighted in favour of large international firms at the cost of local Irish businesses.
The current objective of the group is to lobby Government to re-think its current procurement strategy which is costing jobs in the SME and Micro-Business sectors.
We want to be allowed to continue to offer quality products and services to schools, which represent real value for money.
To date, we have met several times with the Office of Public Works, been before the Public Accounts Committee and lobbied many Government Ministers but the same anti Micro-Business tactics are still being pursued.
We hope to continue giving a voice to the many small, indigenous businesses whose jobs are under threat from the current short-sighted procurement policy.
We are a country comprised almost exclusively of Micro-Businesses.
Micro-Businesses can’t win government contracts under the current price only policy.
Multinationals are stepping over their Irish customers to win Government business directly
Jobs are being lost
Revenues are being exported
Communities are being decimated