Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 January 2014
314. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the level of pro bono work provided to his Department by legal, accountancy and consulting firms in the past 24 months; and which of the firms have also been awarded State contracts by his Department. [3654/14]
View answerIn response to the Deputy's question I can confirm that there is no linkage by this Department between pro-bono work undertaken by firms for specific pieces of work and the subsequent award of contracts to the same firms for other work. In each case where contracts are awarded, there is full adherence to tendering procedures in accordance with national and, as appropriate, EU procurement rules.
As a result of an open tendering process for the 'Provision of Expert Assistance in Baselining Payroll Administration in Civil Service Bodies, Justice, Defence and some Education bodies', PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) was awarded the contract in April 2012. In line with their tender, PWC did not receive any payment for the provision of that work.
Following a separate open tendering process, PWC was awarded a contract in respect of 'Expert Assistance in Relation to Implementation of Public Service Reform Initiatives' in August 2013.
In response to an open tendering process for the 'Provision of Expert Assistance in Programme Management, Governance and Reporting' in relation to Public Service Reform, in February 2012 Ernst and Young (EY) were awarded the contract for 20 support days. In line with their tender, EY did not receive any payment for the provision of that work.
Following a separate open tendering process, EY was awarded a contract in October 2013 for the provision of a 'Baselining Report on the Learning and Development Functions of Civil Service Bodies and the undertaking of a Feasibility Study into their Provision on a Shared Services basis'.
