Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 February 2021
83. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number and value of procurement contracts for Covid-19-related spending in 2020 and 2021 that took place via negotiated procedure without prior publication in his Department. [10771/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra84. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the breakdown of procurement contracts for Covid-19-related spending in 2020 and 2021 that took place via negotiated procedure without prior publication by his Department, by goods and service type in tabular form. [10772/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 84 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that the procurement processes for all contracts in my Department were carried out in accordance with the Office of Government Procurement’s (OGP) Public Procurement Guidelines for Goods and Services which aim to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers the best value for money.
The EU Procurement Directives provide for procurement by way of negotiated procedure without prior competition in respect of contracts valued in excess of the EU threshold of €139,000. I can confirm that no such procurements were undertaken in respect of Covid-19 related spending by my Department during 2020 or to date in 2021.
As set out in the table below, three procurement processes valued over €25,000 (excluding VAT) were undertaken in the period in question, under the terms of Article 32 of the Public Sector Procurement Directive (2004/18/EC), due to the operational impacts of Covid-19. This Article provides for the awarding of contracts without the use of a competitive procedure in certain circumstances, including, for example: where no suitable tenders have been submitted in response to an open or restricted procedure; where competition is absent for technical reasons; and for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by unforeseeable events.
Details of all contracts / purchases of more than €25,000 (exclusive of VAT) undertaken without a competitive process, and the reasons for doing so, are notified to the Comptroller and Auditor General when preparing the Annual Appropriation Accounts and published in that context.
Contracts over €25,000 approved without a Competitive Tender process
|
Year |
Contract Awarded to |
Purpose of Contract |
Value of Contract |
Goods / Services |
|
2020 |
AwS |
Provision of IT Cloud Services to facilitate increased demand for Gov.ie services that have arisen in the context of Covid-19 |
€100,000 |
Services |
|
2020 |
Eir (Security Services) |
Provision of IT Security Services to enhance malware detection and prevention systems in response to a National Cyber Security Centre alert on heightened threat levels arising from Covid-19 |
€123,000 |
Services |
|
2020 |
McCann Fitzgerald Solicitors |
Provision of legal advices on advisory notes and legal agreements for use with standard form Capital Works Management Framework contracts in response to Covid-19 measures |
€29,520 |
Services |
