Skip to main content
Normal View

Public Procurement Regulations

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2018

Tuesday, 6 November 2018

Questions (232)

Thomas Byrne

Question:

232. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position with regard to the exclusion of a company (details supplied) from bidding for State contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44972/18]

View answer

Written answers

Public Procurement is governed by EU and National rules. The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers transparency and value for money outcomes.

As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform I have responsibility for the formulation of policy, dissemination of best practice and guidance in public procurement. I am not in a position to comment on the exclusion of a particular business from bidding for a public contract as it will depend on the circumstances of the business and the criteria that have been established for a particular procurement.

Public procurement regulations require applicants to meet certain standards when applying for public contracts. The criterion upon which contracting authorities may exclude applicants from the award procedure of public contracts is set out in Regulation 57 of S.I. No. 284 of 2016 - European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016 – transposing Article 57 of Directive 2014/24/EU – the EU Procurement Directive.

The grounds for exclusion essentially fall into two categories; those that are mandatory and are applied to all procurements and those that the contracting authority chooses to apply to a particular procurement. The Directive sets minimum periods for exclusion for the different categories and also specifies circumstances where a tenderer may satisfy a contracting authority that they have put measures in place that demonstrate their reliability despite the existence of a relevant ground for exclusion.

There is no provision in the Directive to exclude a business from all procurement procedures. The assessment as to whether a business is excluded or not is made on a case by case basis for each competition.

Applicants for public contracts must declare whether any of the exclusion grounds specified in the procurement documents apply to them. A formal final judgement in respect of a mandatory exclusion ground is necessary before a contracting authority can legitimately take any action against a potential supplier. Where voluntary exclusion grounds are concerned evidence of a specific breach is necessary.

The contracting authority must consider the facts and must arrive at a decision based on evidence rather than hearsay or dissatisfaction. In applying voluntary exclusion grounds, contracting authorities should pay particular attention to the principle of proportionality in its deliberations before deciding whether to exclude or include an applicant.

Top
Share