I propose to take Questions Nos. 229 and 230 together.
The ‘National Public Procurement Policy Framework’ issued by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) in November 2019, sets out the procurement procedures to be followed by government departments and state bodies in accordance with EU rules and national guidelines.
In addition, my Department has its own internal policy and guidance documents to assist staff to comply with all procurement regulations.
Moreover, in compliance with ‘Department of Finance Circular 40/02’, my Department returns an annual report to the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), in respect of contracts valued €25,000 or more in aggregate (exclusive of VAT) that were undertaken by this Department without a competitive process.
No awards have been made to Microsoft by my Department in the years 2018 to 2022 inclusive. In general, Microsoft products are purchased from Microsoft resellers and are not purchased directly from Microsoft.
I have set out below details of the contracts awarded by my Department to the companies named by the Deputy. All of these contracts were awarded competitively.
|
Company
|
Description of service/contract/outcome
|
Date Awarded - contract Ended
|
Value of Contracts
|
Competitive
|
Cost
|
|
PwC
|
Provision of the Appointment of an assessor pursuant to the Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Act 2009
|
November 2018 – November 2020
|
€500,000 – €750,000
|
Y
|
€1,050,000No cost to the Department of Finance. This was paid by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) and was ultimately recouped by them from the Special Liquidation of Irish Banking Resolution Corporation
|
|
KPMG
|
Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI)- Market Economy Operator Principle (MEOP) benchmarking
|
April 2018 – October 2018
|
€30,000 – €50,000
|
Y
|
Fixed fee - €40,000 plus VAT
|
|
KPMG
|
Assessing the appropriate level of interest to be paid by HBFI to Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) that is market conforming and complies with the MEOP
|
January 2020 – July 2020
|
Fixed fee €20,000 + VAT
|
Y
|
€ 20,000 + VAT
|
|
KPMG
|
Report on the drivers of the cost and availability of finance for residential development
|
March 2022 –September 2022
|
Fixed fee €80,000 ex VAT
|
Y
|
€80,000 ex VAT
|
|
KPMG
|
HBFI MEOP/ISIF Rate Report
|
November 2022 - ongoing
|
€30,000 + VAT
|
Y
|
€30,000 + VAT
|
|
KPMG
|
HBFI Benchmarking Advice (MEOP)
|
August 2021 – February 2022
|
€30,000 + VAT
|
Y
|
€30,000 + VAT
|
|
Deloitte
|
Provision of International Comparisons’ of banking sectors across markets
|
July 2022-November 2022
|
Fixed fee- €96,000 + VAT
|
Y
|
€96,000 + VAT
|
In relation to the bodies under the aegis of my Department, it was not possible for Central Bank of Ireland, Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, Home Building Finance Ireland, Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, National Asset Management Agency, National Treasury Management Agency, Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, the Office of the Controller & Auditor General, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and the Tax Appeals Commission to provide the information sought in the time available and, therefore, I will make arrangements to provide the information in line with Standing Orders.
Details of the contracts awarded by the remaining bodies are set out in the attached table.
|
Body under the aegis of the Department of Finance
|
Company
|
Description of service/contract/outcome
|
Date Awarded - contract Ended
|
Value of contracts
|
Competitive
|
Cost
|
|
Credit Review Office
|
EY
|
Internal Audit Services
|
2020-2021
|
€3,625 ex VAT
|
N
|
€4,459 incl. VAT
|
|
|
Deloitte
|
Internal Audit Services
|
2021-2022
|
€4,000 ex VAT
|
N
|
€4,920 incl. VAT
|
|
|
Deloitte
|
Internal Audit Services
|
2022-2023
|
€4,000 ex VAT
|
N
|
€4,920 incl. VAT
|
|
|
Microsoft
|
Licence charges for software applications procured directly from MS
|
2019 – 2022
|
€4,092 ex VAT
|
N
|
€4,092 ex VAT
|
|
Investor Compensation Company
|
Deloitte
|
Provision of a secondee to support ICCL processing and paying certified compensation claims to investors that suffered losses arising from the failure of Custom House Capital Limited (in liquidation)
|
13 weeks with option to extend. Provision of services ceased before end October 2022.
|
€21,000 (ex VAT)*
*Initial contract value
|
N
|
€34,192 (ex VAT)^
^Contract was extended due to volume and complexity of issues with various claims.
|
