I apologise for being behind time and to the Minister of State for keeping him waiting. The system of tendering used by the National Roads Authority is flawed and unfair. It excludes many people in an unjust way from the process of tendering. I appreciate the NRA is a statutory body established by the Houses of the Oireachtas and that the Minister has very little function in its day to day operations. However, I ask the Minister for direction on a policy matter pertinent to his position. It is inappropriate for the National Roads Authority and, in most cases, impossible for contractors to deal with the tendering procedure in place. If allowed to continue, a cartel will develop, where only a limited number of large companies will be in a position to tender for projects under the national development plan during the next six years. This should be nipped in the bud. The Minister should intervene and give direction on the tendering process.
It is proposed to build a road from Longford to Strokestown in the Longford-Roscommon constituency, at a cost of approximately £12 million. To take on that project, a contractor must have completed a contract involving at least one third of the cost of that proposed road project. That means a contractor, who has not completed close to a £5 million contract for the National Road Authority or a public contract to that value, would be excluded from tendering for this project. That excludes most contractors, as £5 million contracts are not completed on an annual basis in that work on them would stretch over two or more years. All contractors in my region and other regions who have completed projects costing £2 million or £3 million would be excluded from tendering.
The contracts engineer indicated this is such a difficult job that this type of tendering procedure should be put in place. The original part of the work on this contract, which cost only £1 million, was through a bog and this proposed project is a continuation of that work through the same bog. Having regard to that, the argument put forward does not stand up.
Contractors would be able meet the other criteria stipulated. They must have a turnover of £30 million. That would not be a problem for any of the contractors. That criterion is appropriate, as we want people involved in major business to tender for these projects and to be able to see them through.
Another stipulation is the setting up of a cartel system, in respect of which the Minister should intervene, as it would not be in the public interest. If a case was brought to court on this matter, it would be found to be an inappropriate tendering process. A judicial review is taking place in respect of a case in Clare. If this stipulation were proceeded with, that avenue of exploration might also be followed in this case. We should not wait for that. That is the reason I raise this matter.
I investigated this tendering procedure as well as I could and raised it with the county engineer of Roscommon County Council. He stepped aside from it on the basis that the contracts engineer has included a paragraph stating that this project is a difficult job, but that would not stand up to a major investigation. This an attempt to run a closed shop in terms of tendering for major road contracts to the National Roads Authority. I could be more direct, but it might be inappropriate. If the Minister does not intervene in this matter, the courts will straighten out this matter at a later stage.
In the interests of natural justice and of people being in a position to tender for projects in this area, the Minister should have discussions with the National Roads Authority and investigate the terms it set down in the limited tendering process it is using in the case of such projects with a view to varying them and removing the stipulations put in place, as they are an impediment to the natural system of tendering and natural justice.