Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 July 2014
197. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if a company (details supplied) has been successful in securing a public contract since the company was inspected by the National Employment Rights Authority, NERA; if so, whether any specific conditions have been put in place to ensure that the company is compliant with employment law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27868/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to the general issue of employment law and its enforcement, these are matters for my colleague Mr. Richard Bruton, T. D. Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) respectively.
The information sought by the Deputy is not recorded centrally in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for public contracts. Contracting authorities are currently only obliged to publish contract award notices on the eTenders website www.etenders.ie and the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU) for those contracts whose values exceed the EU thresholds. The current EU threshold for works contracts is €5.186 million; for supplies and service contracts awarded by Government Departments the threshold is €134,000 and for the remainder of public bodies the threshold is €207,000. The threshold for supplies and service contracts of entities operating in utility sectors (water, energy, transport and postal) is €414,000.
The Office of Government Procurement which administers the eTenders website has advised that since January 2012 that the company, which is the subject of the Deputy's question, has not been awarded an above threshold contract. The management of a public works contract is a matter between a contracting authority and a main contractor. It is the responsibility of each contracting authority to ensure that contractors comply with all the requirements of the contract. If the Deputy is aware of any non-compliance he should contact the relevant contracting authority directly.
