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Public Procurement Contracts

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2021

Wednesday, 3 March 2021

Questions (361)

Mairéad Farrell

Question:

361. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs 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 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021; the value and nature of the contract work carried out in each case; the year of each contract in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11474/21]

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Written answers

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) currently operates in a number of locations in Ireland and in over 90 locations overseas.

The policy of the Department is to operate competitive tendering as standard procedure. In order to achieve best value for money, a Central Procurement Section operates to co-ordinate all contracting activity and to promote best practice in procurement through management and monitoring of corporate contracts.

Procurement takes place in the context of Directive 2014/24/EU and supported by Procurement Guidelines published by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP). The Department participates fully in on-going initiatives of the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) focusing especially on achieving procurement savings, including the use of shared framework agreements for the provision of different categories of supplies and services.

On occasion, a small number of Department contracts do not undergo a competitive process due to exceptional market or other circumstances. In some cases, non-compliant contracts arise due to the proprietary nature of the goods or services or where the original tender contract period has expired and a new tender process has not yet been completed for specific reasons.

Below are details of non-compliant contracts for 2018 and 2019 only as returns for 2020 and 2021 are not yet available. To comply with DPER Circular 40/02 the Department prepares an annual statement of contracts awarded without a competitive process where the value of the contract exceeded €25,000 (excluding VAT). This is submitted to the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on an annual basis by 31 March of the following year as part of the Appropriation Accounts. Work is currently ongoing on compiling this information for 2020 and it will be published with the Appropriation Account in due course.

Non-Compliant Contracts more than €25,000 (excl. of VAT) undertaken without a competitive process

Year ending 2019

Detail of Contract

Contract Value

Outbound diplomatic mail service for the Department of Foreign Affairs

€80,000

Inbound diplomatic mail service for the Department of Foreign Affairs

€150,000

Department of Foreign Affairs office furniture removals, maintenance and general services.

€99,391

Commercial Cleaning Services for Department of Foreign Affairs offices Ireland

€462,966

Commercial Cleaning Services for Department of Foreign Affairs offices Ireland

€30,655

Commercial Cleaning Services for Department of Foreign Affairs offices Ireland

€51,121

Pre-post foreign language training for Department of Foreign Affairs staff

€38,626

Pre-post foreign language training for Department of Foreign Affairs staff

€32,258

Pre-post foreign language training for Department of Foreign Affairs staff

€26,274

Security for Chancery and Residence Embassy Brasilia

€110,726

Security Services Contract for Embassy Riyadh

€70,449

Catering Services for Consulate General Offices New York

€80,333

Security Services Contract for Chancery and Residence Embassy Jakarta

€119,312

Security Services Contract for Embassy Maputo

€28,236

Cleaning Services Contract for Chancery and Residence in The Hague

€33,000

Cleaning Services Contract for Embassy, Consular, Passport Office and Visa Office London

€33,846

Non-Compliant Contracts more than €25,000 (excl. of VAT) undertaken without a competitive process

Year ending 2018

Detail of Contract

Contract Value

Mobile Service Provider including purchase of mobile phones for the Department of Foreign Affairs

€173,363

Provision of Health Insurance for Department staff (and qualifying dependants) serving abroad.

1,527,116

Department office furniture removals, maintenance and general services.

€104,827

Security Services Contract for Chancery and Residence Embassy Brasilia

€107,000

Security Guard and Monitoring Service at the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels and Residences in Brussels

€211,588

Cleaning Services Contract at the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels

€59,368

Security Services Contract for the Chancery and Residence Embassy Jakarta

€43,097

Provision of Catering Services for Official promotional activities at the Consulate General New York

€64,093

Provision of Legal Services related to HR and real estate business at the Consulate General New York

€27,290

Cleaning Services Contract at the Embassy and Residence The Hague

€25,143

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