Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 May 2023
799. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a list of all external assurance process reviews tendered for to date; the value of the contract; and the name of the successful company, in tabular form. [24508/23]
View answerIn 2021, Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (D/PENDPDR) Circular 25/2021 introduced the External Assurance Process (EAP) making it a mandatory requirement for Exchequer-funded projects with an estimated capital cost in excess of €100 million. The independent scrutiny processes for major capital projects was established to ensure appropriate project preparation, to further strengthen project management, and ultimately improve project outcomes.
For the External Assurance Process, D/PENDPDR established a single lot, multi-supplier framework from which funding Departments can source the independent reviewers to conduct the reviews.
In March 2023, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan (NDP) Delivery and Reform informed Government of changes to the capital appraisal guidelines as part of package of significant actions aimed at enhancing delivery of the NDP. Among other things, this increased the thresholds for the classification of major projects at which full Public Spending Code (PSC) scrutiny is required and reduced the number of steps for proposals to travel through before approval to proceed.
The EAP remains a requirement for major projects in excess of €200 million, at Decision Gate 1 - Approval in Principle of the updated PSC, prior to seeking Government consent following the approval of the Approving Authority.
Two EAP reviews have been tendered to date by the Department of Health (details below):
|
Contract Title |
External Assurance and Review Process for proposed Elective Care Centre's in Cork and Galway* |
|
Contractor Name |
Archus |
|
Value of contract (excl VAT)(This is the overall value of the contract including any costs associated with the option to extend the contract) |
€113,286 |
|
Date contract awarded |
27/06/2022 |
*a combined tender process was held for both individual projects
|
Contract Title |
Consultancy to review the business case documentation for the relocation of the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) to the St Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH) campus at Elm Park |
|
Contractor Name |
PricewaterhouseCoopers |
|
Value of contract (excl VAT)(This is the overall value of the contract including any costs associated with the option to extend the contract) |
€79,950 |
|
Date contract awarded |
22/06/2022 |
