Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 23 Jan 1996

Vol. 460 No. 3

Written Answers. - Loughan House Laundry Contract.

John Ellis

Question:

377 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Justice if she will have investigations made into the procedure used to allocate the laundry contract at Loughan House which has led to loss of jobs in the private sector; the action, if any, she proposes to take to prevent a recurrence of the position where public bodies who have all equipment grant aided compete against private companies who receive no such assistance. [19217/95]

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Owen)

In accordance with normal Government procurement practice, the contract for the provision of laundry and dry cleaning services to Loughan House is awarded annually, following competitive tendering. In October 1995 all known contractors within a 40 mile radius and any others who had expressed an interest were invited to tender for the current contract. Four responses were received.

Having regard to the need to obtain the best value for the prison service, and to the Department of Finance guidelines in these matters, the contract was awarded to the contractor which submitted the lowest tender. It is the taxpayer's money which is used to finance any facility such as Loughan House and there is a responsibility to ensure that the lowest but, nonetheless, effective contractor gets the contract. The Department of Finance's guidelines do not preclude public bodies from competing with private firms for the award of such contracts.