Vol. 548 No. 2
40 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she has been briefed on the award of the contract for the running of the Luas system to a French company; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4802/02]
Following the Government decision that the operating franchise for Luas should be awarded through a competitive tendering process, my Department engaged consultants to design and conduct the competition in accordance with EU public procurement rules. The consultants report to a steering committee, comprising representatives from my Department, the Department of Finance and the Railway Procurement Agency, while an independent process auditor is overseeing the process, which began in December 2000 and attracted interest from a number of strong candidates. The steering committee is currently in the final stages of its deliberations and will report to me shortly.
(Mayo): Is the Minister aware that the recommendation is that the running of Luas should go to a French company, Conex, which runs 17% of the British rail system and was strongly criticised by the chairwoman of the rail passengers' council for the trains being dirty, badly kept and not running on time?
The Deputy appears to have information I do not have. I have no proposals and so cannot comment on any rail company.
(Mayo): This should be brought to the attention of those who will make the final decision. It is worth bearing in mind that the company lost the franchise to operate the south central service out of London because trains ran late and passengers would accept it no longer. The Irish Times had a definitive article on who will get the contract.
Any FOI request would reveal that I do not have any proposal from the steering committee about who will get the contract. I read articles in the press on the matter to which the Deputy refers and suspect that, as I have no proposal, there is dirty work at the crossroads by those who will not get the contract.
(Mayo): Never.
I do not refer to the Deputy or reporters but to companies which believe they will not get the contract. It is an old trick.
