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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 5 Jul 2001

Vol. 540 No. 3

Written Answers. - National Sports Stadium.

John Bruton

Ceist:

318 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if the reason the terms of reference of the consultants to make an overview of the cost of the Campus Ireland project include a provision that they will liaise with and be guided by a steering group of officials at senior level; and his views on whether this provision for official guidance compromises fundamentally the independence of this consultancy exercise. [20663/01]

The steering group, provided for in the Government decision to carry out an over view of Stadium and Sports Campus Ireland is comprised of the Secretary Generals of the Departments of the Taoiseach, Enterprise Trade and Employment, Tourism, Sport and Recreation and a Second Secretary from the Department of Finance. Its role is to select a suitable consultancy to carry out the overview, to clarify the terms of reference with the selected consultant, and to ensure the satisfactory delivery of the independent overview.

The steering group has overseen a tendering process open to consultants based in the EU and run in accordance with EU public procurement rules. From among 15 expressions of interest it has selected High-Point Rendel, a London based international consultancy with significant experience with large-scale projects, including sports projects. The consultants have already begun their task.

The ongoing role of the steering group will be to provide an essential link to facilitate access by the consultants to all relevant documents, reports, facts and data and to ensure that the report meets the exacting requirements of the terms of reference. Such a role does not in any way fundamentally compromise or indeed threaten to compromise the independence of the consultancy exercise.

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