A new guide to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) comply with competition law when tendering as part of a consortium has been published.

The guide, which has been produced by the recently-established Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, is one of a number of measures that are being introduced to help make it easier for SMEs to tender for public contracts.

Tenders amounting to €12 billion were published and awarded by public sector bodies in 2013, according to figures published by the online platofrom TenderScout. However, just 10 per cent of SMEs participated in the public sector procurement process last year.

One of the measures introduced to encourage more SMEs to tender is to form a consortium to submit a joint tender for a public contract where they are not of sufficient scale to tender in their own right.

The new guide outlines the rules around consortium bidding so that it is carried out in a way that complies with competition law.

Isolde Goggin, chair of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission said the public procurement process offered significant business opportunities for firms that can provide the goods and services required by public bodies.

“Including efficient smaller firms and new entrants could result in greater value for money for the State. It should also increase the number of firms that take part in a tender competition, which should increase competition and decrease the cost of goods and services purchased by the State,” she said.