Mary Harney
Question:45 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Finance the specific procedures that exist for the appointment of consultants to Government Departments. [1232/96]
Written Answers. - Appointment of Consultants.
The procedures for the engagement of management consultants are, broadly, as follows. A project brief, also known as a request for tenders, should be prepared by the individual Department concerned and issued to a number of consultancy firms. The number of firms invited to tender generally depends on the estimated value of the contract. Where it is expected that the value of the contract will exceed £160,000, approximately, projects must be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Communities in compliance with the Services Directive 92/50/EEC. Projects with an estimated value of less than that amount need only be advertised within Ireland either by means of advertisement in the national or trade press or by issuing request for tenders to a number of firms. Interested firms then submit tenders which are evaluated by the Department commissioning the project. Where the contract is subject to the EU Services Directive 92/50/EEC the award criteria to be employed must be clearly set out from the beginning. The contract may require to be referred to the Government Contracts Committee for approval, if it is exceptional in some way, for instance, the proposed passing over of the lowest bid.
Department of Finance sanction need only be sought by Departments for expenditure on consultancy projects which exceeds the delegated levels set out in departmental administrative budget agreements. Once Department of Finance sanction has been obtained, where appropriate, a contract or exchange of letters should normally take place between the contracting Department and the successful firm.
The national procedures which should be followed by Government Departments, local and regional authorities, and other bodies in the public sector or dependent on State funding as appropriate, in the award of public sector contracts in general, are set out in a booklet issued by my Department entitled "Public Procurement". The lastest edition was published in 1994 and it is available from the Government Publications Sales Office.