asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the number of Irish companies invited to tender for the steel fabrication work in the new NET natural gas plant in County Cork.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Steel Contracts.
2.
Three Irish companies were invited to tender for this work.
Could the Minister state whether any was successful?
We have debated this issue on a number of occasions at great length and there have been parliamentary questions on it. There is no new information I can give.
Can the Minister say if Irish companies were competent to carry out the work?
The technical advice from the NET engineers is that they were not competent.
3.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will give details of the alternative work in the structural steel area which had been offered to an Irish firm as a compensation for the loss of a contract which they had previously been informed they had obtained.
This firm were offered the opportunity to tender for alternative work which they had the expertise to execute. I understand that in one case so far they have not been successful in a tender submitted in competition with other Irish firms.