asked the Minister for Health the reason a contract for ceiling tiles for the Mater Hospital, Dublin, was awarded to a firm abroad, when an Irish firm (details supplied) was capable of providing a type at a cheaper price and which was judged by the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards to be safer than the imported product.
Written Answers. - Mater Hospital (Dublin) Contract.
393.
A sub-contract for the installation of ceilings in the new Mater Hospital development was awarded to an Irish firm. This work includes installation of ceiling tiles. The specification for the tiles to be used is the responsibility of the hospital's architect in the first instance. However, at my Department's insistence tiles manufactured by the firm mentioned in the Deputy's question are being used in lieu of tiles specified by the hospital's architect in areas where they are considered suitable and competitive in price.