The Water Services Act 2013 provided for the establishment of Irish Water as a subsidiary of Bord Gáis Éireann, to be formed and registered under the Companies Act. Procurement by Irish Water of suppliers is a matter for the company and I have no role in approving individual contracts. However, Irish Water has indicated that its tendering processes are fully compliant with public procurement rules.
I understand from the company that in this case, the tender documentation for CCTV & Jetting (Pre-qualification and Invitation to tender documentation) was specifically developed for Sewer Jetting and CCTV works/services, and the documentation that was issued to applicants/tenderers is unique and specific to those works/services.
In respect of day-to-day jetting work, all tenderers that met the minimum criteria were admitted to the framework. Irish Water confirmed that every effort was made throughout the tendering process to deliver a suite of documents which would result in the provision of suitably experienced Contractors, regardless of applicant size, whilst ensuring all Health & Safety requirements were met.