asked the Minister for Health if he will state the name of the firm with which he recently signed a contract for development works on the site of the proposed sanatorium at Blanchardstown, the name and nationality of each of the directors thereof, its subscribed capital, the number and value of the shares held by each director, the date on which the firm was incorporated as a limited liability company, the last six contracts carried out by the firm in this country and the amount thereof in each case, and the total amount of the present contract.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Sanatorium Contractors.
The contract for the execution of the site development works for the proposed regional sanatorium, Blanchardstown, County Dublin, has been placed with Messrs. Hussey, Egan and Pickmere (Ireland), Limited, on the recommendation of my Departmental advisers after careful consideration of all the tenders received, and after they had satisfied themselves as to the competence, technically and financially, of the selected contractor to carry out the work. It is not the practice to disclose the precise amount of the tender, but I may say that it was of the order of £100,000.
I have not the information requested in regard to previous contracts carried out by this firm. Neither have I the other information requested by the Deputy, but I presume he is aware that he can obtain it at the Companies Registration Office, Dublin Castle.
Am I to understand from the Minister's reply that he has made no investigation as to the competency of this firm to carry out an extensive contract of this kind, that he has made none whatever, that he is not in fact aware as to whether they have carried out any contracts in this country before?
Can the Minister assure the House that this firm are at least as competent as the contractors engaged on the Santry Court scheme?
It has nothing to do with it.
In reply to the Deputy's supplementary question, in relation to this point, I attempted to make it clear to Deputy Bartley in relation to a similar question recently that the procedure is for my technical advisers, engineers, architects and administrative officers to investigate all matters which would help them to form a competent judgment of the adequacy or competency of these firms to carry out a particular job, bearing particularly in mind their reputation or their record in my Department or, if it was not available in my Department, with the local authorities or with any other big firm and also the adequacy of their machinery, financial stability and other matters.
I am quite certain, knowing the competency of my advisers in the Department of Health, that the necessary inquiries were carried out. I might say that I am aware that in relation to this particular firm specific inquiries were made in relation to two jobs which they carried out, one in regard to a road in County Kildare and the other in connection with the Electricity Supply Board, at Leixlip. I understand that my technical advisers were quite satisfied that the firm, on their record with these two concerns, the local authority and the Electricity Supply Board, would be competent to carry out this job.
Is the Minister's statement not an attempt to fob off on to the permanent officials of his Department a responsibility which is really his?
It is no longer yours, anyway.
If it were, it would be discharged, I can tell you, much more searchingly.
What about Mr. Eindiguer?
Did the technical advisers, to whom the Minister has referred so frequently in the course of his prolonged and not very informative reply, not present him with a minute in which they gave him the particulars for which I have asked him in this question? Did they not tell him what contracts this firm have carried out; what the value of those contracts was; what were the names of the directors; whether the company in fact was a genuine company or not?
My technical advisers made a certain recommendation to me and I acted upon that recommendation, assuming that my technical advisers are particularly competent to consider the problem and to make such a recommendation. I am quite certain of that, knowing them as I do. I do not think it is to the credit of the Deputy, who must also have some experience of these men, that their ability to give judgment on such a point should be questioned. I could not set myself up as a competent authority to examine the very complicated problems involved in a vast civil engineering and architectural work such as this and to override the decisions of my advisers.
I am not impugning——
Question No. 49.
Very well, Sir. I propose, in view of the unsatisfactory nature of the Minister's reply, to raise this question on the Adjournment. I am not going to permit the Minister to shelter himself behind permanent officials.
You will be opening up something you will be sorry for.
Always going to do something, but never do it.
It is more Irish than the firm to which you gave a contract to perform.