Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 November 2019
260. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the details of contracts of €25,000 or more that have been awarded by his Department or bodies under his aegis that were found to be non-compliant with procurement guidelines in 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45062/19]
View answerMy Department reports on non-compliant procurement as part of the Appropriation Account and the Statement of Internal Financial Control provides information on such cases. The information is readily available for 2017 and 2018. Information in relation to 2019 will be compiled during the completion of annual accounts in March 2020 and will be available shortly thereafter.
Non-compliant contracts in 2017
The Department was compliant with all relevant guidelines regarding procurement in 2017, with the exception of procurement totalling €1.76 million. The exceptions occurred for several reasons as set out below:
- Three contracts in the value range €25,000 to €60,000, totalling €122,528, were undertaken without a competitive process – two with a total value of €71,897 related to sole/limited supplier availability reasons and the other with a value of €50,631 related to urgency/business continuity reasons.
- Four contracts in the value range €100,000 to €200,000 per annum, totalling €555,899, were undertaken without a competitive process – three contracts with a total value of €412,772 related to sole/limited supplier availability reasons and the other with a value of €143,127 to urgency/business continuity reasons.
- Two contracts over €500,000 per annum, with a total value of €1,085,660, were undertaken without a competitive process. One with a total value of €520,024 related to business continuity reasons and the other with a value of €565,636 related to urgency/expediency reasons.
Non-compliant contracts in 2018
The Department was compliant with all relevant guidelines regarding procurement in 2018 with the exception of procurement totalling €2.880 million.
The exceptions occurred for several reasons as set out below:
- Nine contracts in the value range €25,000 to €100,000, totalling €499,372, were undertaken without a competitive process – three with a total value of €133,748 related to sole/limited supplier availability reasons and six with a value of €365,624 related to urgency/business continuity reasons.
- One contract with a value of €212,849 related to sole/limited supplier availability reasons.
- Two contracts over €500,000 per annum, with a total value of €2,003,367 were undertaken without a competitive process. One with a total value of €535,624 related to sole/limited supplier availability reasons and the other with a value of €1,467,743 related to urgency/expediency reasons.
The information sought in regard to the contracts of €25,000 or more that have been awarded by the bodies under the aegis of my Department that were found to be non-compliant with procurement guidelines is being collated and I will arrange for my officials to forward it to the Deputy as soon as it becomes available.
