Mick Wallace
Ceist:
99. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he is satisfied that all contracts a company (details supplied) holds with his Department and State agencies under his aegis have been tendered for; if his attention has been drawn to contracts awarded to the company that have not been tendered for; if his attention has been further drawn to contracts awarded to the company that have rolled over; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21667/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra
I wish to confirm to the Deputy that the information sought cannot be provided in the time allowed. As soon as the information has been collated I will write to the Deputy on the matter.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A
I refer to Parliamentary Question No. 99 for answer on 23 May 2018 in which the Deputy asked if I was satisfied that all contracts Capita holds with my Department and State agencies under its aegis have been tendered for; if my attention has been drawn to contracts awarded to the company that have not been tendered for; if my attention has been further drawn to contracts awarded to the company that have rolled over; and if I will make a statement on the matter.
The information was sought from the agencies under the remit of my Department and it is a matter of regret that it has taken until now to collate the response.
The information requested is set out below.
I hope the information is of assistance.
I am advised that all of the contracts my Department holds with Capita have been properly tendered for.
By way of a general comment my Department seeks to ensure at all times that it is compliant with procurement law and Government policy and procedure when tendering for contracts. It utilises a central database to review expenditure in the Financial Management system and a centrally maintained contract management database is utilised to ensure that expenditure is on foot of appropriate procurement procedures. The vast majority of tender competitions are now being run by, or in conjunction with, the Office of Government Procurement (OGP).
In circumstances where tendering is deemed not feasible, as envisaged in circular 40/2002, approval is sought from the Procurement Officer. While every effort is made to minimise the number of supply arrangements which are reported under Circular 40/2002, there will always be some procurement arrangements which are required to be reported under this circular including for example in relation to the proprietary nature of goods and services where there is a sole supplier of the goods or services in question or where annual licensing renewals arise including for example in relation to ICT software and systems. There are other situations where tendering may not always be feasible, such as where specific specialist knowledge is required, where urgency is a factor or where it has been necessary to extend a pre-existing contract for a period of time pending new tender competitions being completed.
Insofar as the agencies under the aegis of my Department are concerned I have been advised by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána has a contract with Capita for the National Digital Radio Project, “Project Management Radio Communications and Control Room Technical Support”.
This contract is for the maintenance of the Integrated Communications and Control System and is a shared service between An Garda Síochána and the National Ambulance Service.
I am further advised that the original purchase was completed after a tender competition in September 2000. In 2010 the system was upgraded to cater for the migration of An Garda Síochána to the National Digital Radio Network and this was further upgraded to a shared solution with other State Agencies, following advice from the governance structures established under the National Digital Radio Service contract.
The Garda authorities intend to replace this contract as part of a planned procurement for a new Computer Aided Dispatch System. I have been informed that sanction has been sought from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to commence this procurement process.
