Vol. 485 No. 2
285 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the number and identity of all contracts in excess of £300,000 awarded by his office or other bodies under the aegis of his Department from the period 30 June 1997 to date; whether these contracts were awarded by public tender or otherwise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23127/97]
I am assuming that the question relates to contracts for the provision of services or consultancy assistance.
Two contracts were awarded in the period to the ESB and CIE for the installation and rental, over a five year period, of high speed, highly resilient communications interconnects between the Department's main computer processing and telecommunications sites.
In accordance with standard tendering procedures these contracts were awarded following a competitive tender which was advertised in the official journal of the European Union.
