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Public Procurement Contracts

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 April 2015

Wednesday, 15 April 2015

Ceisteanna (830)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor

Ceist:

830. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the reason the Geological Survey of Ireland recently published a tender for public relations services with a requirement for tenderers to demonstrate a turnover of a minimum of €200,000 per annum for each of the previous three years by way of audited accounts or similar when most small and medium-sized enterprises and sole traders cannot meet this stipulation and when it is counter to the Government’s expressed policy of encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14428/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The TELLUS project is a geophysical and geochemical analysis of the soils of the island of Ireland. Initially the six counties of Northern Ireland were surveyed and under the INTERREG IVA programme the survey was extended to the six border counties in this jurisdiction. Additional funding has now been provided for the extension of the survey across a number of counties in the Midlands and North Midlands, with the eventual aim of completing the survey of the whole island.

The Ex-post evaluation of the TELLUS border project by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) (published on my Department’s web site at http://www.tellusborder.eu/NR/rdonlyres/7781AA33-AE06-4455-869A-3757FEE17685/0/TellusBorderpostprojectevaluation.pdf) concluded the project was fundamentally sound, was well scoped and planned, and “engaged with stakeholders/the wider community through an exemplary communications campaign”.

In extending the programme to other parts of the country, it is recognised that sustaining communications effort is fundamental in conducting the airborne programme in particular, and external public relations support is required to inform, in advance, land and animal owners of the flights. This includes a range of skills and capacities, requiring engagement in extensive outreach to a wide range of stock owners and managers, local farmers, landowners and other stakeholders over an extended geographic survey area for up to 33 months, including capability to sustain a continuous freephone hotline.

As part of this next phase of the project, the Geological Survey of Ireland, a division of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, recently published a tender for public relations support for the next phases of the Tellus Survey Programme, a low level airborne geophysical survey and soil and stream sediment chemical survey.

Circular 10/14 issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, entitled ‘Initiatives to assist SME’s in Public Procurement’, has guided the overall procurement approach and provides that “Buyers (of services) should ensure that capacity levels set for candidates/tenderers are relevant and proportionate in the circumstances of a particular contract". The circular provides guidance on turnover requirements, and while this is not intended to express a predetermined decision of a public body of expected bid range, it provides guidance to public bodies in assessing the financial capacity and strength of a company to perform a contract without permitting turnover thresholds that are so disproportionate as to prevent tenders form SMEs.

The turnover requirement set out in the tender documentation has been determined in light of the guidance in circular 10/14, and the extent, range of stakeholder interests, complexity, intensity, geographic range and duration of the proposed project.

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