Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 February 2019
212. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the purpose of the contracts committee; the person or body that sits on the committee; the Departments represented; the positions or levels they hold in each Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6726/19]
View answerThe Government Construction Contracts Committee, “GCCC”, was established under Section 11 of Circular 40/02, “Public Procurement Guidelines – revision of existing procedures for approval of certain contracts in the Central Government sector”, which inter alia re-configured the existing arrangements for the Government Contracts Committee.
The GCCC is a forum for the discussion and development of public policy in the tendering and contracting of all aspects of construction projects, apart from the PPP form of contract.
The OGP provides the functions of Chair and Secretariat to the GCCC. The membership of the GCCC, given below, includes representatives from the main capital spending bodies and departments with a significant involvement in public sector construction related activities. In order to draw on the considerable experience in procurement within the public sector, the committee also includes bodies from outside the central government sector.
Relevant departments and bodies nominate representatives to sit on the committee and they have either technical, e.g. civil and building engineering, architectural, quantity surveying, or project management, and/or administrative backgrounds. Representative departments and bodies may change their individual nominees on the GCCC from time to time. Special advisors/consultants or other guests may be invited to participate in the work of the Committee as may be required from time to time.
All public works projects that are delivered under the Exchequer-funded element of the Government's capital plan must be procured in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Capital Works Management Framework, CWMF. The CWMF is mandated by circular and was developed to provide an integrated set of contractual provisions, guidance material, technical templates and procedures which cover all aspects of the delivery process of a public works project from inception to final project delivery and review to assist contracting authorities in meeting their ongoing procurement requirements. The public works contract is a key component of the CWMF and is a lump sum, fixed-price contract which is to be used on all public works projects.
It is possible for public bodies to seek a derogation from the use of the standard forms of contract from the GCCC. This process may be used for complex or large projects which have specific requirements which do not naturally fit with the standard ‘lump sum’ contracts and has been availed of by a number of sanctioning authorities.
A derogation, if agreed, does not approve the approach or strategy of the contracting authority, but simply acknowledges that the circumstances are such as to warrant a different approach than the standard. It is a matter for the contracting authority and the sanctioning authority to satisfy themselves as to the adequacy of the approach with regards to compliance with procurement rules and project appraisal in accordance with the Public Spending Code.
The current details of the GCCC at 12 February 2019 as requested by the Deputy are set out below.
|
Name |
Technical/Administrative Position in Organisation |
Department/Office |
|
David O’Brien |
Senior Construction Adviser (Chair to GCCC) |
Office of Government Procurement |
|
Eileen Dalton |
Assistant Principal (Secretariat to GCCC) |
Office of Government Procurement |
|
Jim Deane |
Principal Officer, Procurement Policy |
Office of Government Procurement |
|
Grainne Connolly |
Engineer, Marine Engineering Division |
Dept. of Agriculture, Food and the Marine |
|
Noel Clancy |
Chief Engineer, Marine Engineering Division |
Dept. of Agriculture, Food and the Marine |
|
Noel Ó Murchú |
Engineer, Marine Engineering Division |
Dept. of Agriculture, Food and the Marine |
|
Deirdre Creaney |
Assistant Principal, Property Management Branch |
Dept. of Defence |
|
Neil Murphy |
Head of Quantity Surveying Services |
Dept. of Defence |
|
Larry McEvoy |
Manager (Professional & Technical), Planning and Building Unit |
Dept. of Education & Skills |
|
Derek Kavanagh |
Quantity Surveying Adviser - Housing Advisers & Building Standards |
Dept. of Housing, Planning and Local Govt. |
|
David O'Grady |
Engineering Inspector Roads Division |
Dept. of Transport, Tourism and Sport |
|
Ciaran McCaffrey |
Senior Manager, Capital Funding |
HEA |
|
Eleanor Masterson |
Deputy Chief Architectural Adviser |
HSE |
|
Peter Finnegan |
Principal Quantity Surveying Adviser |
HSE |
|
Gerard Cahillane |
NDFA Head of Finance and Operations |
NDFA |
|
David Corrigan |
Head of Project Management |
NDFA |
|
Aidan Quinn |
Principal Quantity Surveyor, Quantity Surveying Services |
OPW |
|
Colette Davis |
Assistant Principal, Flood Project Management Services |
OPW |
|
Gerard Kennedy |
Assistant Principal, Intermediate Projects |
OPW |
|
Gerard Harvey |
Assistant Principal Architect |
OPW |
|
Geraldine Fitzpatrick |
Chartered Engineer FIEI, Head of Roads Capital Programme |
Transport Infrastructure Ireland |
|
Patrick Duffy |
Regional Manager |
Transport Infrastructure Ireland |
