asked the Minister for Finance whether the lowest tender was accepted for the construction of the proposed new national school for the parish of Kilgarvan, County Kerry; and, if not, why and the difference between the lowest tender and the approved tender.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Kerry School Tender.
21.
All the tenders received for the construction of the new national school at Kilgarvan were considered on their merits and the lowest suitable tender was accepted. It would be contrary to well established practice to disclose particulars of tenders received.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary state the difference in price between the lowest and the second tenders?
As I said, it would be contrary to well-established practice to disclose those particulars but I can assure the Deputy that it went before the Government Contracts Committee before the tender was accepted.
Could the Parliamentary Secretary give any indication of the difference?
I would like to give the information but it has been the practice since 1958 not to disclose this information. I can give dates when different Deputies asked questions of different Ministers and this practice was adopted: on the 11th April, 1961, Deputy Barrett asked the Minister for Transport and Power of the time, on the 10th May Deputy Russell asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs of the time for this information and it was refused. This practice has continued and I would be loathe to break it.