Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 31 Mar 1992

Vol. 417 No. 9

Written Answers. - Government Carpets Contracts.

Bernard Allen

Question:

122 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Finance if he will now supply the information requested in Parliamentary Questions Nos. 53 to 59 and 62 to 73 on 26 February 1992 in view of his inability on that date to supply the information required.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Mr. N. Treacy)

The replies to the Questions put down by the Deputy are as follows: Questions Nos. 53, 69, 70, 71 and 72. The information in so far as it can be supplied is given in Table I.

The amount of the successful tender in any of these cases cannot be disclosed in the interests of preserving the confidentiality between the Office of Public Works and its contractors. In all of the cases referred to the contract was placed with the lowest suitable tender.

Questions Nos. 54, 56, 57, 58, 59 and 73. The information in so far as it can be supplied is given in Table II.

The amount of the successful tender in any of these cases cannot be disclosed in the interests of preserving the confidentiality between the Office of Public Works and its contractors.

In all of the cases referred to the contract was placed with the lowest suitable tender.

Question No. 55. The floor covering was included in the overall tenders for the project at the initial stages on the basis of a bill of contractual arrangements which included a prime costs sum for this purpose. The main contractor were McInerney's Ltd. The carpets were specified in the bill of quantities for the overall project as "Munster Glencurl Major with border design". The carpet laying was carried out as a domestic subcontract by Messrs. Sé Quirk Ltd. who supplied and fitted carpets as per the specification in the bill of quantities.

Questions Nos. 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 and 68. In accordance with procedures laid down by the Department of Finance, the Office of Public Works require that before a contract is awarded a firm must have obtained the necessary tax clearance documentation from the Revenue Commissioners. The Revenue Commissioners carry out stringent checks before issuing any tax clearance documentation including checks on PAYE contributions. The Department of Social Welfare is responsible for ensuring compliance with PRSI requirements.

No substantial contracts entered into with the Commissioners of Public Works can be sublet without the Commissioners' prior written consent. No application for permission to sublet was received in any of these cases.

Table I.

Location	Number of Companies Invited Tender	Number of Tenders Received	Name of Successful Company
Government Offices Sligo, Galway, Ballina and Tralee. (Same tender competition).	21	9	Sé Quirk Ltd., Portobello, Dublin.
Department of Agriculture, Cavan Town.	19	10	Sé Quirk Ltd., Portobello, Dublin.
Department of Justice, Killarney.	7	6	Sé Quirk Ltd., Portobello, Dublin.
Dublin Castle	23	4	Sé Quirk, Ltd., Portobello, Dublin.

Table II

	Government Offices Athlone and Ennis*	Government Offices Sligo, Galway, Ballina and Tralee†	Department of Social Welfare Aras Mhic Dhiarmada
Number ofTendersInvolved	10	21	4
Names of Companies Invited	1. Carpet Centre Contracts, Dublin2. Sé Quirk Ltd., Dublin3. Carpets and Interiors, Dublin4. Murray Ltd., Dublin5. Waterford Carpets Ltd., Dublin6. Munster Carpets Ltd., Cork7. Navan Carpets Ltd., Co. Meath8. Curragh Carpets Ltd., Co. Kildare9. Michael Treacy Ltd., Co. Kilkenny10. Maurice Walsh Ltd., Dún Laoghaire	1. Carpet Centre Contracts, Dublin2. Sé Quirk Ltd., Dublin3. William Free, Dublin4. Curragh Carpets, Co. Kildare5. Munster Carpets Ltd., Cork6. Danny Boyle, Sligo7. Carpet Express Ltd., Dublin 8. Danny Ryan Carpets, Dublin9. Allied Carpets Ltd., Dublin10. Carpets and Interiors, Dublin11. D.D. O'Brien Ltd., Dublin12. Waterford Carpets Ltd., Dublin13. V'Soske Joyce, Co. Galway14. J.D. McMurray, Co. Galway15. Navan Carpets Ltd., Co. Meath16. Southern Carpets Ltd., Bray, Co. Wicklow17. Maurice Walsh Ltd., Dún Laoghaire18. Roches, Ballina Ltd., Co. Mayo19. Interior Design, Cloghroe, Co. Cork20. P.G. Power Distribution, Dublin21. K.S. Carpets Ltd., Co. Meath	1. Carpet Centre Contracts, Dublin2. Sé Quirk Ltd., Dublin3. Carpets and Interiors4. Pat Hanrahan Carpets, Dunboyne
No. of Tenders	6	9	3
Names of companies which tendered	Companies listed at numbers 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 and 10 above	Companies listed at numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 above	Companies listed at 1,2 and 4 above.
Lowest tender received	Company listed at number 9	Company listed at number 2	Company listed at number 2
Quality and Specification of Carpet requested	Contract Quality — Woven Wilton-Axminster “Super Glenwil”, “Tara” or equivalent	Contract Quality	Munster Monarch or equal
Quality and Specification of Carpet supplied	Contract Quality — Navan “Tara”	Contract Quality — Munster “Excel Velvet”	Contract Quality — Munster “Belgrave”

*The contract for Athlone Government Offices was extended to include Ennis Government Offices.

†Sligo, Galway and Ballina Government Offices were included in the same tender competition. This contract was extended to include Tralee.